Short Scenes

At this time of Westlife compilations, television competitions and Christmas party music, it’s hard not to feel a little anxious for an album like Short Scenes. Essentially a labour of love for Beth Orton’s main musical collaborator, it is a collection of musical snatches rather than songs and tunes, and as such is unlikely to have them forming a conga at the office party. There are some beautiful, if fleeting, moments – but it’s hard to escape the feeling that it is, for the most part, less than essential.

Members of the excellent Lincoln, Red Snapper and Sunhouse make up an underground all-star backing band, while Orton herself joins up for ‘Ted’s Waltz’: it’s easily the best track on the album, an indication perhaps that Barnes is at his best when providing a delicate background for others rather than taking the lead himself.