Beth Orton – Otherside

“Otherside” is the third and final single from The Ground Above, Beth Orton’s ninth album, due June 26 on Partisan Records. We covered Waiting (W17) when it arrived, and the pattern of releases has been deliberate throughout: the title track first, which opens the album; “Waiting” second, which sits at the midpoint; “Otherside” now, which closes it. It’s an unusual way to present a record, and not a commercial one. It reads more like an invitation to understand the album’s architecture before you have the whole thing.

The song grew from something specific: Orton heard that the first birdsong of a new day signals the birds announcing they survived the night. From that image outward, “Otherside” became a reflection on resilience after loss, on what it takes to rebuild a life and still dare to imagine something better. Like “Waiting” before it, the track is self-produced and built with the same core group: Shahzad Ismaily, Sam Beste, Chris Vatalaro, Vishal Nayak, Paul Butler, trumpeter Christos Stylianides, Tom Herbert, and Dave Okumu. The live performance video, directed by Iain and Jane Pollard and Joseph Lynn, introduces the musicians as a band rather than a credits list, and it’s worth watching for that alone.

The Ground Above follows Weather Alive (2022), which was also self-produced and which marked a genuine return to form after a decade of records that never fully found their footing. “Otherside” confirms that whatever Orton found in that process is still with her. This is the other album I’ve been waiting for all year, and three singles in I still haven’t heard a note that disappoints.

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Tour Dates:

UK

• Jun. 26 / London, UK / Rough Trade East (record store, release day)
• Jun. 29 / Bristol, UK / Rough Trade
• Jun. 30 / Brighton, UK / Resident
• Jul. 2 / Manchester, UK / Piccadilly @ Night & Day
• Jul. 23-26 / Suffolk, UK / Latitude Festival

North America

• Sep. 15 / Washington, DC / The Miracle Theatre
• Sep. 16 / Philadelphia, PA / Baby Grand
• Sep. 18 / New York, NY / Le Poisson Rouge
• Sep. 19 / Somerville, MA / Crystal Ballroom (Somerville Theatre)
• Sep. 20 / Turners Falls, MA / Shea Theater
• Sep. 22 / Toronto, ON / The Concert Hall
• Sep. 23 / Detroit, MI / El Club
• Sep. 24 / Chicago, IL / Old Town School of Folk Music (Maurer Hall)
• Sep. 26 / Minneapolis, MN / Parkway Theater
• Sep. 28 / Los Angeles, CA / Troubadour
• Sep. 30 / San Francisco, CA / Great American Music Hall