Beth Orton – Kidsticks

Beth Orton reclaims & reinvents her old ‘folktronica’ sound....
Beth Orton : Kidsticks
7.7 Anti/Epitaph
2016 

BBeth Orton : Kidstickseth Orton came up contributing to the nineties electronica likes of Chemical Brothers, with her own sound mixing folk and electronica until 2006’s Comfort of Strangers, where she moved much more into the folk sphere. With Kidsticks, Orton reclaims & reinvents her old ‘folktronica’ sound.

Now, this isn’t big rave beats, but rather sweet indietronic mixed with sweet folk. Indeed, opener “Snow” has the vocal rhythms more like tUnE-yArDs, a difficult style done well, while “Corduroy Legs” is basically sounds of nature, affected. But much of the record runs from the catchy indietronica-pop of “1973” to effective indietronic loss of “Moon” and “Wave”.

The genre mix is naturally a bit hit-or-miss, with some songs standing out, other falling behind. But for an artist making music for twenty-or-so years now, Beth Orton sounds remarkably fresh & young on Kidsticks.

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