Beth Gibbons Lives Outgrown LP

Beth Gibbons releases her debut solo album Lives Outgrown, following her work as a member of Portishead and her collaborative album with Rustin Man, Out of Season. Featuring 10 beautiful new songs recorded over a period of 10 years, the album was produced by James Ford and Beth Gibbons with additional production by Lee Harris (Talk Talk).

Lives Outgrown is, by some measure, Beth's most personal work to date, the result of a period of sustained reflection and change — "lots of goodbyes," in Beth's words. Farewells to family, to friends, even to her former self. These are songs from the mid-course of life, when looking ahead no longer yields what it used to, and looking back has a sudden, sharper focus.

As usual it reflects what's been going on with me internally, my 50's have brought forward a new yet older horizon. It has been a time of farewells to family, friends and even to who I was before, the lyrics mirroring my anxieties and sleepless nighttime ruminations, hence 'Lives Outgrown'. Not just because of the way we travel through emotional or psychological transitions in our lives but relating more to the time we leave this planet and our motion into the unknown. Something I fear but just need to try and celebrate as a moment approaching, gifting the ability to grow beyond the restraints of this physical world.

The sound was also a process, exploring structures within my own personal capabilities. I wanted to draw away from breakbeats and snares, focusing on the woody fabric of timbres away from the sugary addiction of high frequencies that satisfy like sugar and salt.

I hope those of you who have been so loyal and supportive over the years along with any new listeners will enjoy.

love

Beth x

Though it's meticulously crafted, Lives Outgrown is also some of Gibbons' rawest music. Not coincidentally, its wildest moments are some of the finest. 'Rewind''s glowering desert-folk-metal-psych is an instant standout, as is 'Reaching Out''s simmering, brassy outbursts; both offer vibrant proof that her days as an innovator are far from behind her. Similarly, the darker tone the album takes on songs like the witchy 'For Sale' reveals that Gibbons still isn't in the business of placating listeners, and the pastoral serenity she brings to 'Whispering Love' is well-earned. As she explores aging with haunting beauty and resolute honesty, Lives Outgrown reveals Gibbons' music is only getting richer as the years pass.