Beth Orton has never made the same record twice, and The Ground Above, her eighth studio album out 26th June via Partisan Records, is proof that three decades in she’s still finding new ground to cover. Urgent, raw and emotionally fearless are the words she reaches for. Listening to new single Waiting — a slow-building, life-affirming piece with echoes of Laura Nyro, Carole King and her early collaborator Terry Callier — it’s hard to disagree.
Orton describes Waiting as a celebration of moving out of the holding pattern fear keeps us in, delivered with as much humour as heartbreak. It’s a neat summary of what The Ground Above seems to be doing across its eight tracks — moving between subconscious expression and timeless songcraft, her voice as distinctive as ever, documenting survival and renewal, motherhood and identity, political unease, and the ongoing choice to stay in love, in art, and in the world.
As with 2022’s Weather Alive — her critical breakthrough and first self-produced record — Orton has produced The Ground Above herself, working from live recordings with a trusted cast of musicians including multi-instrumentalist Shahzad Ismaily, drummer Chris Vatalaro, Nick Hakim collaborator Vishal Nayak, and bassist Tom Herbert among others. Nick Hakim himself features on Cigarette Curls, a track rooted in formative memory and friendship. The album is structured in two halves — the first more fragmented and searching, the second opening into warmer, more expansive melodic forms — giving it the feel of a record that knows exactly where it’s going, even when it’s asking the hardest questions.
The UK tour follows in October — eight dates that take in Brighton, Manchester, Nottingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Bristol, Norwich and a closing night at London’s Alexandra Palace Theatre on 22nd October. Latitude Festival in Suffolk in July will offer an earlier preview for those who can’t wait.
Tickets are available now. The Ground Above is out 26th June.