Beth Orton – Daybreaker (2002)

I've already written about two other Beth Orton albums before this one in this blog. Daybreaker is not her strongest album, but it still definitely has its moments. This album had high expectations as well, because it was released right after her breakthrough album Central Reservations. Daybreaker is quite playful and I would definitely not call it very commercial. That is just a good thing. The songs have interesting sounds and in the best moments, the album manages to be quite a magical experience. There are a couple of well-known musicians on this album that I really appreciate; Johnny Marr and Ryan Adams. Johnny Marr was obviously already a legend at this time because of his career in The Smiths, but The Smiths weren't that popular at the time, so I don't know how many people actually knew him back then. Ryan Adams, on the other hand, was pretty much the biggest name in alt-country around that time.



What I really like about Beth Orton is her voice. She can sing softly, she can rock out and she can also put lots of power into her vocals. The lyrics tell stories nicely and the production is interesting enough to set this music apart from your average radio hit. There are various different styles used in the songs on this album, which might make it sound a bit patchy, but I really like most of this album, so I don't care. Also, the mood of the album is still quite similar despite the sound explorations.

The album starts beautifully with Paris Train, a melancholic folk song with excellent electronic buzzing and clinking noises. Orton's vocals sound quite magical in this song. This is followed by an obvious hit song Concrete Sky that has a slightly cheerier mood. This song is made in collaboration with Johnny Marr. Mount Washington takes the soundscape into a more shamanistic direction. There is actually something similar to Calexico in this song. Anywhere changes the mood quite a bit once again. There is a latin rhythm in the song with some trumpets in the background. The title-track Daybreaker has some trip-hop style sounds and the whole experience is much more electronic than anything you had ever heard from Orton this far. The melancholic chorus is quite glorious. Carmella tones the mood down and takes it back to more traditional sounding folk. It's nice to hear authentic acoustic guitars. God Song is even slower ballad with airy and lazing tempo that is in no rush anywhere. This One's Gonna Bruise is a co-written by Ryan Adams. He also plays the guitar in this one. There are definite similarities to Adams' solo stuff. Ted's Walk takes the style towards more experimental waters again. There are mysterious overdriven guitars and echoes that zoom in and out in the song. The album ends with Thinking About Tomorrow, which again has some trip hop style beats, but the melody is much more laid-back and sunny.

The music video for Concrete Sky is quite cool. Orton is in a red cocktail dress walking through a green forest singing the song. In the end she gets to a beach where other people in suits walk around. I think Johnny Marr is there as well. There's not much of a storyline for this video, but it's a nice and calm video with great landscapes.

Beth Orton is a really good artist on paper and I do enjoy listening to her albums, but there's that something that's always missing for me. I don't know exactly what it is, but the songs don't stick with me and they never play in my head. In some ways, that's a good thing, but it would be nice to have a bit more of a connection with individual songs. Daybreaker is, in any case, a great album.

Listen to the album on Spotify.