Beth Gibbons & Rustin Man

British chanteuse Beth Gibbons once provided the emotional anchor for Portishead's haunting trip-hop, entwining her mournful voice with the cinematic soundscapes constructed by Geoff Barrow and Adrian Utley. Ditching turntable scratches, swooping theremin, and programmed beats for decidedly organic accompaniment, Gibbons and collaborator "Rustin Man" (aka Paul Webb, bassist for defunct new wavers-turned-experimentalists Talk Talk) mix jazz, folk, and R&B influences on Out of Season while still leaning toward the torch singer's tragic side.

Details

Friday, Oct. 24, at 8 p.m.

Tickets are $25

775-7722

The Warfield, 982 Market (at Sixth Street), S.F.

Related Content

• Friday: Portishead Works Its Haunting Magic at the Greek Theatre
  October 24, 2011
• Anika: Show Preview
  October 19, 2011
• Sizzle & Fizzle: Highs and Lows from the Last Week in S.F. Music
  October 26, 2011
• Portishead Will Play the Greek Theatre This October
  July 11, 2011
• Wine Clubs Are the Coffin Nails of Rock 'n' Roll
  November 29, 2011

More About

• Beth Gibbons
• Portishead
• Adrian Utley
• Geoff Barrow
• Soul Music

Like this Story?

Sign up for the Music Newsletter: Keep your thumb on the local music scene with music features, additional online music listings and show picks. We'll also send special ticket offers and music promotions available only to our Music Newsletter subscribers.

Privacy Policy Cancel Continue

Opening with a full minute of Eno-esque ambient sound, "Mysteries" blossoms into a sparse symphony of acoustic guitar and choir that backs Gibbons as she delivers a weary, achingly beautiful vocal. "Tom the Model" initially dives headlong into Portishead territory courtesy of swelling Hammond B-3 chords and reverb-heavy guitar, but suddenly switches to a horn-driven, string-drenched Memphis soul groove that wouldn't sound out of place on a classic Al Green album.

Out of Season revels in its diverse palette, running the gamut from the lush Bacharach-meets-Axelrod arrangement on "Romance" (with the wistful Gibbons working her drawling Lady Day impersonation to the hilt) to the stark approach used on the folky rumination "Resolve" to the forlorn piano balladry of "Show," a not-so-distant acoustic cousin to "Roads" from Portishead's '94 debut. The psychedelic chamber orchestrations (think jazzy Pink Floyd, post-Syd but pre-Dark Side of the Moon) heard on "Spider Monkey" and the epic "Funny Time of Year" also hew closely to the Portishead template -- not so surprising, considering Utley and former members of the group's live band helped out on these recordings -- but the balance of the album still marks a significant departure for Gibbons. The relentless melancholy of the vocalist's songs might be a bit much for some, but the singer pulls off her heartbroken pathos where most would degenerate into woebegone caricature.