|
Beth Orton
Comfort of Strangers
(Astralwerks)
First Appeared in The Music Box, March 2006, Volume 13, #3
Written by Tracy M. Rogers
Full of pop melodies and tales of lost love, Beth Orton’s Comfort of
Strangers is equally influenced by Joni Mitchell’s fetching folk,
Christine McVie’s blues-infused pop, and Dusty Springfield’s blue-eyed soul. Imbued with
sadness and hope, the album finds Orton using religious imagery and subtle
political rhetoric while spinning a web of minimalist musical bliss, and often,
she complements her edgy, Cockney alto with only acoustic guitar, piano, bass,
and percussion.
Nowhere is this more apparent than the opening track Worms. A
rollicking, piano pop chantey, the song is a tale of tarnished love in which
Orton goes from being someone’s beloved to being a fallen woman. "Now, I’m your
apple-eating heathen/the original sin/well you ain’t got my faith/so best keep
your belief," she croons in the chorus. Elsewhere, she becomes a "rib stealing
Eve" — a clue that the track is as much about male chauvinism as it is about a
love affair gone wrong.
Countenance continues the religious imagery, while adding political
undertones to the mix. Opening with the lines "For those who preach
forgiveness/while they’re practicing revenge/man will do to man/but nature’s got
it all in hand," Orton relays a tale about finding herself in the midst of
hypocrites who believe they can hide their sins from nature and God. Her message
is one of karmic retribution for those who perpetuate violence and perpetrate
crimes against other human beings.
However, it’s Conceived that is the true standout track on Comfort
of Strangers. On the surface, the song is another story of misplaced love
that also manages to encompass Orton’s world view. "Didn’t ask to be
conceived/in a loveless embrace/still we learn to be a warm sun/round a very
cold galaxy," she sings over a tender acoustic melody with strings. Her
melancholic hopefulness and existentialist angst reaches it’s apex with these
lines. An expression of both dejection and faith, Shopping Trolley is
also a high point for Orton: "I think I’m gonna cry/but I’m gonna laugh about
it/all in time," she wails over a rollicking drum and electric guitar tune that
belies the tune’s sobering lyrics.
Comfort of Strangers closes with two quite disparate songs: the funky,
up-tempo Heart of Soul and the somber, piano ballad Pieces of Sky.
The former is a plea for more love in the world, while the latter is an
affirmation that life continues, even in the face of tragedy, because death and
sorrow are inevitable. "And how do you know how much you’ll be missed?/Does it
add up to some names on a list?/Do you know we’re just pieces of sky/pieces of
sky that keep drifting by?" she asks. For her, the answers seem to lie in faith
and struggle, in love and life. Possessing both pop sheen and musical
minimalism, Comfort of Strangers is a lyrical journey into Beth Orton’s
personal landscape — encompassing love and heartbreak, politics and humanity,
life and loss. 
Of Further Interest...
Lindsey Buckingham - Gift of Screws
Natalie Merchant - Motherland
Portishead - PNYC
Comfort of Strangers is available from Amazon.
To order, Click Here!
For Canadian orders, please Click Here!
For UK orders, please Click Here!
Comfort of Strangers [Limited Edition] is available from
Amazon. To order, Click Here!
For Canadian orders, please Click Here!
For UK orders, please Click Here!
Ratings
1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!
Copyright © 2006
The Music Box
| 
