‘Lives Outgrown’ by Beth Gibbons Review: A Distinctive Debut
Best known as a member of Portishead, the English singer releases her first solo studio album, ushering listeners into a dark, mythical musical world.
By Mark Richardson
In June 2013, the label Domino announced that English singer-songwriter Beth Gibbons had signed with the imprint and was working on her debut solo album. She was already well known as the voice of the trip-hop outfit Portishead, whose brooding sample-based sound was popular in the ’90s and proved highly influential in the decades that followed. Ms. Gibbons had released an LP outside her main project—the folky “Out of Season,” a collaboration with Paul Webb, best known as the bassist for the shapeshifting ’80s band Talk Talk—but there was some buzz around the announcement because of her importance to alternative music and the fact that Portishead recorded so infrequently. Its debut came out in 1994, and it has managed just two additional studio albums since.
Turns out Ms. Gibbons, now 59 years old, takes her time, even away from Portishead. In 2019, she showcased her considerable range on a live recording with the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra performing Henryk Górecki’s Symphony No. 3, and she has toured with her primary group over the past decade. But we heard very little about that long-awaited album until a couple of months ago. At long last, “Lives Outgrown” (Domino) comes out Friday.