This should make Sketchy quite happy! From NME:

That sounds pretty damn cool. Jim O'Rourke and Beth Orton sounds like an interesting pair. Hopefully a bit more lively than her last outing.

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!

Yeah, she really should have combined the best of Daybreak and Other Side of... into one release. Wouldn't have matched her first two but would have been a LOT closer.

Still, though...

Has anyone heard this yet? I like nearly everything she's done and I just read a couple page article in the latest issue of Harp which hyped me up for it.

It's, uh... not so good, boss.

I hope this is good. I want to love Beth Orton but it seems like each release, she becomes more boring.

That just about sums it up. I don't know if it's that O'Rourke was just a really BAD producer decision or if she has completely lost it.

I listened to it once but realized that the tags were screwed up, so it played in alphabetical song title order. I thought it was dull. Some good tones, none of the electro-touches, but hardly memorable.

I fixed the tags. Maybe with the correct sequence, it's a masterpiece!

On a side note, I'm liking the new Cardigans. Someone said it was a return to the icy Gran Turismo thing, but it's really pretty guitar-driven and simple. Some rock-y moments here.

like i said in an earlier thread on this topic:

i really like her, but this new one is unfortunately really boring.

snoozetown

Is this based on disappointment in the album or the criticism? Cause I'll ignore all the haters if you still say its good.

billy, i will guarantee that you will find nothing redeeming about this one.

Where did you hear the album already? Are you normally a fan of Beth Orton?

it leaked a while ago. i can PM YSI if you'd like.

i am normally a fan, so i am pretty disappointed in it. not being a "hater" as billy indicated.

it's just so "samey" throughout. not a single stand-out track. i fear she may have peaked with central reservation. she might be best for guest spots on others albume (i.e. chemical brothers)

it's okay... kinda boring if you ask me.

beth orton- "conceived"

I often disagree with folks around these parts as to what's boring so alot of people finding it boring doesn't scare me much.

Over here.

Yeah, it might be great. There are a ton of great records that I didn't notice the first go-around. I was pretty busy at the time.

Thanks for the offer. She's put some samples on her webpage and you can even watch a video. Didn't make me want more.

I was not tempted to buy Daybreaker after hearing some samples, so I'll probably wait until I can find this one used. :(

I might be alone on this one, but I rather like 'Conceived'. I enjoy Daybreaker quite a lot, probably playing it as much as Central Reservation.

It's out next week, isn't it?

Odd, I think it's fantastic. Much better than Cat Power's.

Criticism. If anything, it makes me lower expectations. I might like it more for what it is (whatever it is). Beth still deserves my money.

<--- Still thinks that the putting together the best of Daybreaker and Other Side... gets something pretty close to the first two records.

Fan-boy finally speaks.

Like it or not, this is the record Beth needed to make at this point in her career. Despite its better tracks, Daybreaker showed that the "RIYL: Joni Mitchell, Massive Attack" well was running a bit dry. She needed to re-invent herself a bit, and Comfort of Strangers accomplishes that with generally positive results.

Samey? Maybe for half of the tracks, but certainly not all of it. The Fiona Apple-ishness of the leadoff track "Worms" doesn't show up anywhere else on the record. "Heartlandtruckstomp" has a swing absent from prior albums and arguably the best bass line in her catalog. O'Rourke is fully responsible for that, and "Shopping Trolley" is another great example of how his production suits Orton. Even with the light-folk that makes up a majority of this record, "Shadow of a Doubt" stands out as an example of the two things that are great about her: quirky but poignant lyrics and a gorgeous voice.

Boring? Only if you need every track engage you enough to force active listening. You might, and I'll admit this album doesn't do that. These days, though, there are normally only two or three records per year which do that for me. This is ideal background music for dinner parties: it doesn't invade the space, but bits of it are enough to capture guests' interest and appreciation (see Josh Rouse's Nashville).

Is it on par with her first two? No, but both of those are in my all-time top 25. Trailer Park and Central Reservation set a folk/electronic template that is only coming into form the past few years with the likes of Patrick Wolf and Bright Eyes' Digital Ashes.... While that's a great sound, she needs to explore new territory. Who knows? Comfort of Strangers might win her some new fans. It might not be the Achtung Baby she was hoping for, but it's a refreshing change-of-pace and more consistent than Daybreaker.

Clearly and accurately stated above by Mr. Sketch, imo (not so humble).

It is better than the last one... but not as "quirky" in the maintstream edgy way of Trailer Park and Central R. Electronica always tended to ambient, and she and O'Rourke have taken her "folksy" side to a new edge, and ambient in affect and effect. Pleasing in the background if you have some serious reading to do, put it on shuffle with South San Gabriel. RIYL if you like Indigo Girls and Starbucks. Guess that's an edge cutting something or other.