Out Of Season

If genius is truly in the detail, Beth Gibbons has genius in spades. Few singers on earth possess such astounding vocal skills as the Portishead chanteuse; even fewer have figured out how to hone them to such bewitchingly elaborate perfection.

On this first collaboration with former Talk Talk bassist Paul Webb (aka Rustin Man), Gibbons scorches her voice into the memory. She proves herself a chameleon, altering her tones to suit the mood of each song. She is capable of great delicacy and beauty (‘Show’, ‘Resolve’), but also of a swampy, jazzy sexiness that makes tracks such as ‘Romance’ seem like classic standards. Her phrasing at all times is nothing short of magnificent.

This is intelligent, subtle music, generated with passion and feeling. Standout track ‘Sand River’ is reminiscent of Portishead, but eschews their characteristic trip-hop beats in favour of an altogether more gentle, eerie and acoustic sound. By contrast, the nicely vivacious ‘Tom The Model’ showcases the duo at their most bombastic. That’s to say, slightly less quiet than usual.

Truth be told, the album could have done with a few more such tracks. Each song is so resolutely downbeat that the record occasionally risks becoming dreary. There are also no immediate hooks here, no choruses to instantly grab the attention. Appreciation comes only with repeated listens. Not everyone will have the patience.

Still, with such wonderful production values, there can be little room for quibbles. Every instrument here is played with skill and care, and produced with an uncommon degree of attention. Webb and Gibbons work well together; they have fashioned something that may endure long after the hyped records of the day are gathering dust in brown boxes in the attic.

A compelling, beguiling offering.