Out of Season [debut]
release date: Oct. 28, 2002format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,68]
producer: Beth Gibbons & Paul Webb
label: Go Beat! - nationality: England, UK
Track highlights: 1. "Mysteries" (4 / 5) - 2. "Tom the Model" (4 / 5) - 3. "Show" (4 / 5) - 4. "Romance" - 5. "Sand River" - 6. "Spyder" - 7. "Resolve" - 8. "Drake" (4 / 5)
A collaboration project debut by Beth Gibbons, former lead vocalist of Portishead, and Paul Webb (aka Rustin Man), former bassist and additional vocalist of Talk Talk. Here the two have expanded their 'powers of instrumentation' as Beth aside from her haunting vocal also plays acoustic guitar and Paul really shows his abilities as multi-instrumentalist by handling percussion, organ, guitars, keyboard, as well as functioning as programmer for the duo.
The album contains ten tracks and it's really an original, beautiful and very laid-back collection of songs in an almost ambient jazz scenery. It's not trip hop as you could connect with Portishead nor is it specifically art pop or post rock, as something that would've bonded with Talk Talk, instead it's mostly a combo of modern folk in a chamber pop universe. Some tracks are close to harmonies reminding us of Carpenters, just in a jazz-like downtempo kind of way. Beth still has a remarkable and haunting vocal, which suits these arrangements very nicely.
[ allmusic.com, Q Magazine 4 / 5, The Guardian 5 / 5, Blender 3 / 5 stars ]
