BETH GIBBONS Vinyl & CDs

Review: Even in the early days of Portishead it was apparent Beth Gibbons wouldn't just play the game and become an omnipresent star trotting out an album a year. Her reclusive nature adds to the enigma around her arresting voice, and it's allowed an album like 2002's Out Of Season to mature beautifully. It also means there's an undeniable thrill around the arrival of a new project, which takes shape here as Lives Outgrown. The lead single 'Floating On A Moment' sets the tone, sounding absolutely like the Gibbons we all know and love while heading into new territory, melding indie rock, folky romanticism and subtle sonic tweaks that assure us the wait has been worth it. This heavyweight vinyl addition comes with a booklet, as well as a download code.

Review: Beth Gibbons has never saturated the market with her distinctive approach to singing and songwriting, choosing to leave the power of her contributions to Portishead and solo hanging in the air. That makes Lives Outgrown a truly exciting proposition, some 20 years after her last solo outing and simultaneously unique but naturally leading on from the magical Out of Season. The sonic content is layered differently, less folky and more like art rock embellished with electronics, but the melancholic, wistful melodic makeup feels absolutely rooted in Gibbon's approach throughout the years. This is the CD edition of a very welcome return from a truly unique treasure in British alternative music.

Review: Beth Gibbons releases her debut solo album Lives Outgrown. Notably containing ten songs that were in total written over the course of ten years, the overarching mood is one of saying farewell and musing on the bittersweetness of loss. The English singer and notable Portishead member's solo efforts often operate with this affect, but Gibbons' latest is of special import, given the length of time over which these songs were crafted and occasionally performed over the years. As demonstrated by lead track 'Floating On A Moment', the palette is soft and reflective, hitting only the softest dynamic notes, as Gibbons sings of unique lifetime journeys and a dealt-with sense of friends suffering being left behind.

Review: Five years ago, Portishead front woman Beth Gibbons joined forces with the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra to perform Henryk Gorecki's "Symphony Number 3 (Symphony Of Sorrowful Songs)" at the National Opera Grand Theatre in Warsaw. Here, the recording of the concert is finally given a release. It's a stunning suite of classical pieces, with the orchestra making short work of Gorecki's swelling movements and deeply melancholic musical motifs. Gibbons is in particularly fine form, transforming herself into an operatic artist and accurately delivers the stunning, Polish-language pieces. It's an astonishing performance and nothing like we've ever heard from her before. The 24-minute opening track is, in particular, breathtaking.