Weather Alive
Studio album by
Beth Orton
Released23 September 2022
Length45:43
LabelPartisan
ProducerBeth Orton
Beth Orton chronology
Kidsticks
(2016)		 Weather Alive
(2022)

Weather Alive is the eighth studio album by English singer-songwriter Beth Orton. The album was released on 23 September 2022 by Partisan Records.

Background

Orton began work on Weather Alive after buying a used upright piano from a dealer at Camden Market in London for ₤300 (US$350) and creating songs by playing notes around the instrument. In an interview with The New York Times, Orton said of that creation process: "No matter where you touch [the piano], it just has these resonances [...] Little ghosts of other chords just keep ringing out and you're like, "Oh, that speaks of another melody, and that speaks of another feeling."[1] In a press release following the album's announcement on 31 May 2022, Orton described the album as "a sensory exploration that allowed for a connection to a consciousness that I was searching for."[2]

Singles

The album's title track was released as the first single on 31 May 2022. Reviewing for Pitchfork, Sam Sodomsky described Orton's vocal performance as "broken and determined, cresting in a chorus that flows with the emotional cadence of an old soul song."[3]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic85/100[4]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
musicOMH[6]
Pitchfork8.7/10[7]
PopMatters8/10[8]
The Telegraph[9]

Upon release, Weather Alive received acclaim from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 based on reviews from mainstream publications, the album has a score of 85, based on twelve reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[4]

In the review for PopMatters, Evan Sawdey wrote that the album "unabashedly feels like the record [Orton] needed to make now, and we all feel more Alive because of it."[8] Sam Sodomsky of Pitchfork called it "the best work" of Orton's career, describing it as "soothing, immersive, and self-produced, it conjures a dreamlike atmosphere with songs that spiral out into the ether".[7] Reviewing the album for The Telegraph, Neil McCrommik stated that, "Orton digs so deeply into her own personal spaces and memories that what she finds there is unique. Middle-aged discontent has rarely sounded so lovely."[9]

Describing the album in a review for AllMusic, Marcy Donelson declared that, "Weather Alive nestles into a comparatively hushed, atmospheric blend of acoustic and electronic timbres that's meticulous and nebulous at once." The reception for the album was more muted in a review for MusicOMH, where writer Ben Devlin claimed that some of the "arrangements can feel a little staid" but that overall they don't "keep Weather Alive from being an engrossing listen especially as Orton dominates the proceedings so expertly."[6]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Beth Orton

Weather Alive track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Weather Alive"7:05
2."Friday Night"5:34
3."Fractals"5:20
4."Haunted Satellite"4:37
5."Forever Young"5:40
6."Lonely"4:24
7."Arms Around a Memory"5:44
8."Unwritten"7:19
Total length:45:43

Personnel

Credits for Weather Alive adapted from Tidal.[10]

  • Beth Orton – primary artist, composer, production, engineering
  • Greg Calbi – mastering
  • Craig Silvey – mixing
  • Dani Bennett-Spragg – mixing engineering
  • Fabio Senna – engineering
  • Francine Perry – engineering
  • Eliot Lee Hazel – creative director, artwork
  • Aaron Mitchell – packaging design

Charts

Chart performance for Weather Alive
Chart (2022) Peak
position
Australian Physical Albums (ARIA)[11] 91
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[12] 81
Scottish Albums (OCC)[13] 8
UK Albums (OCC)[14] 27
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[15] 4

References

  1. ↑ Pareles, Jon (21 September 2022). "How a Sooty Old Piano Helped Beth Orton Reach a New Creative Peak". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
  2. ↑ "Beth Orton Announces New Album Weather Alive, Shares Title Track: Listen". Stereogum. 31 May 2022. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
  3. ↑ Sodomsky, Sam (31 May 2022). "Beth Orton: 'Weather Alive'". Pitchfork. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
  4. 1 2 "Weather Alive by Beth Orton Review and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  5. ↑ Donelson, Marcy (23 September 2022). "Beth Orton – Weather Alive | Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  6. 1 2 Devlin, Ben (23 September 2022). "Beth Orton – Weather Alive | Album Reviews". musicOMH. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
  7. 1 2 Sodomsky, Sam (26 September 2022). "Beth Orton: Weather Alive Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
  8. 1 2 Sawdey, Evan (22 September 2022). "Beth Orton: Weather Alive (Album Review)". PopMatters. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
  9. 1 2 McCormick, Neil; Johnston, Kathleen; Madden, Emma; Ahmed, Narzra; Woods, Cat (23 September 2022). "Beth Orton brings beauty to middle-age, Jake Blount is a revelation – the week's best albums". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
  10. ↑ "Credits / Weather Alive / Beth Orton – TIDAL". Tidal. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  11. ↑ "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 3 October 2022". The ARIA Report. No. 1700. Australian Recording Industry Association. 3 October 2022. p. 8.
  12. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Orton Beth – Weather Alive" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  13. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
  14. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
  15. ↑ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
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