The deeply personal 10-track LP features music recorded over the course of a decade, with production by James Ford and Gibbons herself.
Beth Gibbons, best known as the lead singer of trip hop pioneers Portishead, has released her debut solo LP, Lives Outgrown. Out today (May 17) via Domino, it features 10 new tracks that were recorded over the course of a decade, with production by James Ford and Gibbons, and featuring additional production by Lee Harris.
Full of melancholy and reflection, the album reflects on themes of loss and grief. Gibbons said: “People started dying. When you’re young, you never know the endings, you don’t know how it’s going to pan out.
“I realised what life was like with no hope,” she continued. “And that was a sadness I’d never felt.”
The album also explores the ageing process for women, particularly motherhood and the menopause and their effects on the body. “Before, I had the ability to change my future, but when you’re up against your body, you can’t make it do something it doesn’t want to do,” she said.
On Wednesday, Gibbons shared the music video to lead single Lost Changes, which marks the directorial debut from British photographer Juno Calypso.
Gibbons has also announced tour dates for the UK and Europe, with shows lined up in Paris, Berlin, Copenhagen, Manchester and Edinburgh, among others.
Listen to Lives Outgrown in full below, and visit her official website for tickets to her shows.