Beth Orton - Daybreaker

Like Beth Orton's previous offerings, her third album makes a slight first impression. Sure, the jangly acoustic guitars, drifting melodies, and robust voice are pleasant enough, but it is only after a while that the true potency of the songs becomes apparent. "Nobody can keep you from the one you know you are," she sings quietly on "Mount Washington." Fueled by her mother's early passing, each of Orton's songs is accordingly anchored by a deep sense of sadness and loss. Despite the occasional electronic flourishes at the hands of collaborators such as the Chemical Brothers and Everything but the Girl's Ben Watt, and the beaming West Coast harmonies she shares with pal Ryan Adams, Daybreaker is a supremely personal record. "There's a concrete sky falling from the trees again and I don't know why," she muses on "Concrete Sky." And like Tim Buckley and Nick Drake--the hopeless folk icons that came before her--there seems to be a sublime urgency in her work that suggests a seemingly innocent song like "Thinking About Tomorrow" is not so much about optimism as fate. --Aidin Vaziri Amazon.com

Just amazing!

She is the female David Gray. If you like his music and songs like BABYLON just rush out and get this album. The best song is the last, the incredible, haunting THINKING ABOUT TOMORROW. Like some here say, this requires repeated listenings and all of a sudden you're listening to it every day. February 5, 2008

Thinking about tommorrow

She'd been waiting for us, she'd been creating for us. Following Beth Orton is an eternal game of "catch up". The one thing you'll see time and time again through the customer reviews of this album is that you've got to give it time. I'll weigh in on that thought with an observation. Usually we associate a plethora of producers and mixers with an attempt to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. There are many creative hands, all much-respected in music circles, contributing to this project. Beth herself seems aware of the impact this may have on a prejudicial audience, judging from the layout of the liner notes. It's virtually impossible at first blush to dissect the project by looking throught the liner. One has to study it time and time again (ideally while listening to the album) before one can get a grip on all the various collaborators and their exact contributions, or even the words to the songs themselves. As a result any opinions formed stand a greater chance of emanating from exposure to the music itself.

An album of music and a liner of notes that had so frustrated me proved, over time, to be just right after all. All those hands weren't trying to tart-up the less-than-worthy. They were actually trying to reign-in one of the most rich pieces of work to come forth in this decade. I suspect that much like the listener they didn't quite know where to start. Nonetheless, I'd say they succeeded. March 17, 2006

This album is so much better than I first thought.

I picked this up on a whim, when it came out, and it would be my introduction to Beth Orton. I won't say too much, since it's been mentioned, but give this one several listens. It's very soothing from the start, but nothing catches you. But just listen again. It's probably my favorite album. It's one of those records if you listen to it, her voice is just incredibly human. Her lyrics switch between deep in a simplistic way, and sometimes possibly cheesy because of that simplicity, and then sometimes some abstract artsy imagery. If anyone else were to sing them, they would seem hollow and fake, like the soundtrack to a crappy movie, but her voice is what makes the lyrics - they provide a depth of emotion that makes them shine. The melodies and the instrumentation just fit the part so well. Like I said, nothing catchy, but it's soothingly melodic and haunting - but they do their jobs well - even when the instruments seem to overwhelm her voice - they do so in a way that still allows her voice to come through. Once you've gotten your ears around the songs on this album, you'll find they still retain their beauty in acoustic and live formats - without the sparkly, tinsle of studio. December 20, 2005

Jaw-droppingly beautiful!!

I had never heard anything by British singer/songwriter Beth Orton before this CD. My introduction to Beth was on the inflight entertainment of a British Airways flight where 3 cuts off this CD were featured; `Concrete sky', `Paris train' and the title track `Daybreaker'. Those were enough to convince me to get the CD.

Melancholic and atmospheric soft acoustic folk/rock with a dash of electronica best describes this beautiful CD, a #40 hit on the billboard album charts. Like a number of reviewers have mentioned, repeated play reveals more subtleties of this stark serene beauty.

`Paris train' is a lilting ballad with gently jangling guitars and forlorn strings. In a similar vein is `Mount Washington'. `Concrete sky' is more upbeat (but still delicate) with Ryan Adams harmonizing on the chorus.

One of my favourites is the horn drenched delicate `Anywhere' with a faint jazzy/Caribbean atmosphere and swirling strings. Jaw-droppingly beautiful!! The upbeat `Daybreaker' filled with pulsing and haunting jerky synthesizer effects, and hollow beats is another highlight. A trip hop delight!

`Ted's waltz' is a delicate ballad with faint shuffling percussion, shimmery guitars, and a wistful vocal performance from Beth.

Introspective, serene and beautiful. I'll be looking out for more of her music.
October 14, 2005

You have to give it time

DAYBREAKER is one of those releases that underwhelms upon first listen and if you are not patient gets filed under pleasant at best. I've persisted and now consider this to be my favorite Orton album. The songwriting and emotions are so subtle that it takes several listens to have the songs sink their hooks into your psyche, then once that happens your hooked. Other reviwers have noticed this and I certainly concur.

My favorite tracks include THIS ONE'S GONNA BRUISE, THINKING ABOUT TOMMOROW and PARIS TRAIN. The songs on this record at first seem to be similar then begin to show their unique personalities and stand out from one another. To my ears there are no weak tracks included.

A neophyte to Orton's work would be best recommended to start with PASS IN TIME, her excellent compilation and then proceed to her three proper albums and the great BEST BITS EP (the remix one leaves me a fad appathetic). Beth Orton is an excellent singer-songwriter who weaves modern touches into more traditional folk styled songs to create some essential listening. August 10, 2005

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