Beth Gibbons came to Edinburgh’s Usher Hall to conclude her solo tour, promoting her new album, Lives Outgrown. Performing the album in its entirety with an expansive, and brilliant, backing band, Beth sprinkled the evening’s performance with some special surprises, whilst showing again her enigmatic brilliance as one of the most astonishing vocalists of the last few decades.
Lead singer and lyricist of Portishead, and onetime collaborator with The Rustin Man (Paul Webb, Talk Talk), Beth has created this acclaimed debut solo LP that has recently taken her across the UK and Europe, with notable tracks ‘Floating on a Moment’ and ‘Lost Changes’ raising it above the parapet. And the experimentation we’ve heard from Beth through Portishead and The Rustin Man is as present as ever. Make no mistake, that vocal is as controlled, intimate and as delicate as the day Dummy hit the high street shops.
Though performing the beauty that is ‘Lives Outgrown’ in full, opening up moments for her band to shine on stage with occasional solo performances, such as with violinist Emma Smith on ‘Lost Changes,’ Beth indulges the loyal hardcore with a couple of stunning, and perhaps unexpected, performances of old Portishead tracks. The concluding encore choice, ‘The Rip’; (from Portishead’s Third, released sixteen years ago) with backing from support Bill Ryder-Jones (as well as her band) felt personal, a rare performance that was kept for the Edinburgh leg of the tour, and had band and audience simultaneously brimming with joy.
Lives Outgrown was released 17th May, via Domino Records
Photo credit: Netti Habel
