Beth Orton

The Other Side of Daybreak (Astralwerks)
by Tim Den

A collection of unreleased tracks and remixes from her last, stunning full-length, Daybreaker, this is an eclectic batch that covers everything from Beth Orton solo acoustic (“Ooh Child (Alternate Version)” and “Concrete Sky (Acoustic)”) to Beth Orton dance party goddess (“Thinking About Tomorrow (IPG Dub)”). Remixers include the omnipotent Four Tet (who goes a bit overboard on his reworking of “Carmella”), Roots Manuva, and Two Lone Swordsman, with results varying from total hip-hop to blips-and-bloops frenzyfest.

Of the b-sides, “Ali’s Waltz” is a beautiful plea of a song that grinds its soles right into your heart, while “Beautiful World” is a resigned lament backed by Four Tet’s warm-yet-electronic drum tweakings. The mishmashing of styles confuses from time to time, but when you get down to it, this girl’s material is incredible whether remixed or performed raw. And that’s a good enough reason to own all her records.
(104 W. 29th St. New York, NY 10001)