BETH ORTON
Comfort of Strangers
EMI
· Another Jim O’Rourke transformation complete.
Giving Jim O’Rourke much of the credit for Beth Orton’s Comfort of Strangers isn’t intended as a slight towards her own artistic merits, but his involvement does bring about a transition in Orton that was too long in coming. While Trailer Park and Central Reservation were interesting entries into the echelon of husky-voiced female singer-songwriters, Orton’s subsequent flirtation with limp-wristed MOR balladry turned distinctly boring. Arriving at the sessions with a pair of sharp scissors, O’Rourke trimmed Orton’s simple compositions into sharp-tongued pop.
Made up of songs that just break the two-minute mark, Comfort of Strangers not only provides some of Orton’s most memorable songs, but also an undeniable pulse. While O’Rourke’s reputation may be built largely on noise (most infamously his work with Sonic Youth, and Wilco’s turn from straightforward America towards the weirder plains of experimental rock), his treatment of Orton’s songs gives them a charming 1970s AM radio rock feel. Stripped back to their essence and driven by subdued percussion, the three-point attack of openers "Worms," "Countenance," and "Heartland Truckstop" present a new, undoubtedly refreshed Orton. Those seven minutes alone erase all her previous missteps.
The kudos due are twofold – first, to Orton for coming back to life, and secondly to O’Rourke for bringing her there.
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