Live Review: Beth Gibbons / Bill Ryder-Jones at The Albert Hall in Manchester 10 June 2024

Words: Ben Forrester

Now, the life of an amateur journalist can be non-stop my friends; me and the Birthday gang are out and about as much as we can, reviewing shows so you don’t have to! So it’s always nice when a show comes along that ticks all the right boxes in terms of venue, billing and timing (and also impresses your wife that you’ve got list for it). Tonight we are at The Albert Hall, one of our favourite Manc venues, for a sold out show, as the inimitable Beth Gibbons graces us with her first ever solo tour in support of her first ever solo album, ‘Lives Outgrown’. What makes this a double whammy for me is that label mate and everyone’s favourite sad lad, Bill Ryder-Jones, is opening up!!

Me and the other half smugly walk into The Albert Hall, noticing that no one is in the corridors, naively thinking that we’ll find a nice cosy spot to watch Bill before there’s a rush of Beth fans into the venue. But this is not the case, as the place is absolutely fucking rammed as we squeeze in downstairs (we couldn’t even get a bloody seat, Ed). It makes sense for the room to be a buzz for Mr Ryder-Jones, as he has made arguably one of the best records of 2024 in ‘Iechyd Da’ and tonight he treats us to a stripped back duo set, as he’s backed by friend Evelyn from Pet Snake on cello and backing vocals.

The set is brief and is only made briefer by an unfortunate medical emergency down the front, but Bill and Evelyn calmly stop the set and wait for the all clear (my favourite moment is when Bill calls someone a shit-head for supposedly filming the emergency before realising they’re just taking a selfie). But brief as it is, it’s just beyond lovely hearing Bill’s raspy, bleary eyed vocal ooze through the PA amongst pin-drop silence from the polite crowd tonight. I’m particularly pleased to hear two tunes from 2018’s incredible ‘Yawn’ LP and ‘Don’t Be Scared, I Love You’ is particularly a damp eyed moment. What a beauty. 

The only trick that I think might have been missed is playing only one tune off the new record (‘This Can’t Go On’) and this is only down to the response it gets from the crowd, both at its start and end. In the same breath, it seems like these songs were chosen to compliment its stripped back set up and together, Bill and Evelyn sound angelic. I was chuffed to finally see this guy live as it’s been years in the making for me and I am very much up for when he returns back to the venue with a full band in December, co-headlining with the one and only Gruff Rhys.

After we practically crowd surfed to the merch to grab a well priced copy of Bill’s new record, we set up shop in the corner of the venue, getting bashed by countless tote bags as we await Beth and band to take our minds off how packed in we are tonight. And to be fair, she does the trick, as from the minute she sings, it’s hard not to be hypnotised by her voice, which sounds as spellbinding as it did when she first came out in the 90’s fronting British pioneers Portishead. Though there is a rendition of ‘Roads’ from the classic ‘Dummy’ LP to close the set, that’s the only glimpse we get of her old band tonight. And to be honest, I’m ok with that as the whole point of this show is to promote Beth’s new brilliant record, which she plays in full, interspersed with two tracks from her Rustin Man collab from 2002.

The ‘Out Of Season’ tracks do work very well amidst the rest of the material, for Beth has produced a hauntingly beautiful set of gothic folk. The surroundings of The Albert Hall suit these songs so well and needless to say, the whole room is entranced by the eight strong band on stage tonight, every member putting in a big shift. We’ve got one guy flickering between percussion and flute and it’s hard not to watch as he is so engrossed in the songs, while two violists play in complete sync and make tracks like ‘Burden Of Life’ and ‘Floating On A Moment’ absolutely soar. The latter sounds spine-tinglingly gorgeous, having not left my ears since I first heard it a few months ago.

Gibbons is known for being a reclusive and shy character, often hiding behind the mic stand and tonight she walks onstage like she’s stumbled into the wrong room, but when she sings, it seems as if all of her inhibitions are released and she performs with so much poise and conviction. It’s a pretty hypnotic set all in all, with the crowd very much in the palm of her hands. As we skip through the city centre, me and our lass both agree that this is a show that was peaceful, atmospheric and engaging. Worth the squash in? I’d say so! 

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Release Rundown – Beth Gibbons, Ex-Easter Island Head, Lip Critic and The Lovely Eggs

Words: Ben Forrester (Photo credit: Netti Habel)

Beth Gibbons – Lives Outgrown
(Domino)

One of the UK’s most treasured voices, Beth Gibbons finally gives us her debut solo album. Known best as one third of the incendiary Portishead, Gibbons has weaved in and out of the music world, her band climaxing in popularity in the late 90s, whilst a collaboration with Rustin Man got all the accolades in the early 00s.

Admittedly, hearing a solo record from Beth at all seemed unlikely at some points, but I sure am glad to have ‘Lives Outgrown’ in my ears. Written and recorded over the past decade, Beth self-produced the album alongside long-term Arctic Monkeys producer James Ford and Lee Harris from Talk Talk. This is quite the dream team I think you’d agree, but the results might not quite be what fans of Portishead might expect.

This is a dark, brooding folk record focussing mainly on acoustic guitar and of course Beth’s incredible voice. She has one of those voices that could sound great in any genre, but this atmospheric folk vibe suits her so well, like she’s been churning out records like this for years. Now in her late 50’s, this is an album from the mid course of life. Loss and grief lie at the forefront of these songs, but what you also get is someone who is reflecting on their life and feeling a sense of gratitude of getting through it. ‘Floating On A Moment’ might be of the most iconic moment on the record, an instant classic in my eyes, as a slinky bass line floats around brushed drums, delicate strings and choral backing vocals; Beth sounds elevated and it is completely stunning.

The rest of the album feels a lot starker in comparison, moving through this kind of gloomy old English sound reminiscent of later day PJ Harvey, with smatterings of Thom Yorke; ‘Burden Of Life’ sounds like it should be on ‘I Inside the Old Year Dying’ while ‘Reaching Out’ is very ‘Hail To The Thief‘-esque. But of course, it’s Gibbons‘ writing and performances that make this totally hers. ‘Lives Outgrown’ displays the journey of a life well lived, it’s an album Beth Gibbons could have only made at this point in her life and is a beautifully haunting and glacially engaging comeback. A late night, candle-lit listen if ever I heard one. 

Ex-Easter Island Head – Norther
(Rocket Recordings)

Hailing from Liverpool, this ensemble of musicians have been pushing the boundaries of guitar music for well over a decade now. In fact, it’s been eight years since we last had an Ex-Easter Island Head record. What is so fascinating about this lot is how they come up with creative ways of playing guitar, using them percussively or even stripping them apart and repurposing them with keys.

On hearing the minimalist electronica of the title track, I was mesmerised by its gently building beauty. But when I saw a recent live version, my mind was blown seeing that the whole track was played live using guitars and drums, most members playing two things at a time. From that moment, this album brought on a whole new lease of life for me.

This is an incredibly detailed soundscape of experimental music that builds layers of sound, mostly messing around with guitars but also looking into voice and sampling. Now to be frank, ’Norther’ feels like the most, quote on quote, song on the album and to be honest it might be one of my favourite tracks of the year so far… But on repeated listens, the rest of the album sucks you in, steeped in beautiful textures and bewildering sonics that take you off to a new realm. 

‘Weather’ is the 9 minute opener that sounds like you’re standing in a rain cloud, while ‘Lodestone’ sounds like you’re moving through a never ending cave of percussive guitars and chimes. This is deep focus music and I’ve found it quite the soundtrack – both in cleaning the house and stargazing. Deep, meditative and smart, ’Norther’ is an impressive effort. 

Lip Critic – Hex Dealer
(Partisan)

Making waves in the New York underground, these young fired up troops are rapidly making it across the globe, getting headline slots in Europe and getting loads of airtime in the UK. Much like a lot of this current new school crew, Lip Critic are taking a heap of different ideas and mashing them into their own uniquely bonkers sounds.

Take earth shaking sub bass lines, put two drums on top of that and have a dude shouting, rapping and talking over the top of that and you get a pretty fun sound. ‘Hex Dealer’ is their debut album proper and is a cacophony of vibrant noises that bridge the gap between night club heft and punk snarl. In the same way that Show Me The Body came out swinging with a fresh take on rap-punk, there is a wild ambition and youthful abandon that makes ‘Hex Dealer’ a ripping debut.

This is full of groove, full of attitude and is ready to push you into a sweaty mosh pit. Nearly every tune here packs the same intensity, but ’In The WaWa (Convinced I Am God)’ and ’The Heart’ also show off solid musicianship and strong songwriting. I will say that this record can be a bit full on at times and some tunes hit harder than others. I feel like it’s gonna be one of those albums where I visit a heap of tunes from it, but maybe don’t dive into the whole thing. But as far as debut records go, these dudes have got something insanely cool going on. 

The Lovely Eggs – Eggsistentialism
(Egg)

‘I am Moron’ seemed like a step up for Lancashire duo The Lovely Eggs. It just seemed to live in its own universe and sounded absolutely massive. It’s been four years since then and it’s lovely to see the rise of these two after nearly two decades doing it. ‘Eggsistentialism’ is their seventh record and again has US producer legend Dave Fridmann at the helm, so you know it’s gonna be another pysch-punk banger! That’s exactly what it is too!

Holly and David are a two piece rock band at their core, with a simplistic drums / guitar set up, but there’s a plethora of synths and drum machines too – we are back on Planet Egg for another alt-pop odyssey. This band are so good at delivering big hooks and I’d argue that this is maybe their most instant record to date; ‘My Mood Wave’ sounds like Teenage Fanclub in their chart bothering days, while ‘People TV’ has Flaming Lips flamboyancy all over it. But of course, scuzzy guitars and crashing drums give this album its punked up attitude, opening track ‘Death Grip Kids’ kicking us off with the incredible line “Shove your funding up your arse”. 

‘Eggsistentialism‘ is the sound of a band at the peak of their powers. It’s just got everything. It can be really sincere and sweet, but also totally scathing and full of piss and vinegar. It ups the pysch-pop expansion (which I’m all for), whilst retaining the fuzz rock massiveness that made ‘I am Moron’ so great. This might well be their best record. A true wonder of the British underground. 

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