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Beth Gibbons & Rustin Man | Out of Season

Winter blues from Portishead chanteuse.
CD, Go Beat/Universal

Tekst: Alex Tobin

Publicatiedatum: 30 oktober 2002

Timing is often everything, and so it's quite fortunate that, as the days descend into a cold bleakness and the nights grow darker and longer, Portishead is back. Sort of.

Out of Season is the first full-length solo effort by the group's focal point and chanteuse extraordinaire Beth Gibbons. Working with Rustin Man, the nom de plûme of ex-Talk Talk and O.rang member Paul Webb, the album is a welcome return by a singer whose voice has grown somewhat quiet of late.

While Portishead are seemingly taking an extended hiatus, Gibbons raises the bar considerably with Out of Season, a gorgeous collection of ten mood-altering songs. Imagine a folksy Portishead eschewing electronic, noirish beats and bleeps in favour of a more organic instrumentation. Think piano, stand-up bass, acoustic guitar, and harmonica, all topped with Gibbons' trademark siren of a voice.

'Mysteries' starts things off ably by setting the mood courtesy of choral vocals reminiscent of Les Mystères des Voix Bulgares and a single, simple acoustic guitar. Nothing more, nothing less. 'Tom the Model', with its sultry catchiness, comes complete with punctuating brass section and soaring strings, while 'Romance' is all Billie Holiday, as Gibbons moans her way through yet another heartache.

Out of Season is, however, more than merely a record of love long lost and ill-fated days of melancholy. In fact, this record, with its many references to nature and the changing times of year (hence the title), offers much more: This is a winter album, full of hope and faith. And what better way to be guided to the light at the end of the tunnel than by the soulful kiss of Beth Gibbons' vocals.

http://www.kindamuzik.net/recensie/beth-gibbons-rustin-man/out-of-season/1993/
Meer Beth Gibbons & Rustin Man op KindaMuzik: http://www.kindamuzik.net/artiest/beth-gibbons-rustin-man