(Anti-)Back in the 1990s,Beth Orton gained a rep as the comedown queen: her folksy music boasted an electronic edge and her involvement with Heavenly’s dance crew – she collaborated with the Chemical Brothers – ensured that her music could serve as a gentle passage back to reality. Since that heyday she has pursued more traditional singer-songwriter territory, but Kidsticks is a genuine reinvention: not so much a return to her electronic roots as a bold exploration of fresh territory. A collaboration with Fuck Buttons’ Andrew Hung, or this sixth solo album embraces inventive rhythm patterns,tsunamis of synth and, on 1973, and the metronomic influence of Kraftwerk. Dawnstar is particularly dreamy,a giant cloud of a song to lose yourself in. Such a radical redesign should be imposing, yet Orton’s vocals – plaintive and soulful as ever – still take centre stage.
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Source: theguardian.com