Beth Orton Returns With Raw and Fearless New Album The Ground Above
British singer-songwriter Beth Orton has released her long-awaited new album The Ground Above, marking another creative reinvention for one of contemporary music’s most distinctive voices.
Released today via Mushroom Music and Partisan Records, the album arrives on vinyl, CD and digital platforms and follows the critical success of 2022’s Weather Alive, the self-produced record that re-established Orton as one of the most adventurous artists working in contemporary folk and alternative music.
Described as her most direct and emotionally exposed work to date, The Ground Above explores themes of survival, motherhood, identity, political uncertainty and artistic perseverance. Throughout the record, Orton moves between intimate songwriting and expansive arrangements, with her vocals shifting from hushed reflection to soaring emotional release.
The album also sees Orton continuing her evolution as a producer. As she did on Weather Alive, the singer-songwriter self-produced the record, preserving the spontaneity of the original live sessions while gradually shaping the material over an extended year-long recording process.
A group of trusted collaborators contributed to the sessions, including multi-instrumentalist Shahzad Ismaily, pianist Sam Beste of Vernon Spring, drummers Chris Vatalaro and Vishal Nayak, trumpeter Christos Stylianides and bassist Tom Herbert.
Alongside the album release, Orton has unveiled the new single “Cigarette Curls,” a soulful and increasingly expansive track that reflects on formative love and memory. The song features guest harmonies from Nick Hakim, whose layered vocals deepen the song’s emotional pull.
The accompanying live performance video, directed by Iain and Jane Pollard alongside Joseph Lynn, captures the loose, organic energy that characterises much of the new record.
For Orton, The Ground Above represents the latest chapter in a career that has continually resisted categorisation. Since the release of her landmark 1996 debut Trailer Park, she has moved effortlessly between folk, electronica, singer-songwriter traditions and experimental music.
Albums including Central Reservation, Daybreaker and Comfort of Strangers established Orton as one of Britain’s most singular musical voices, while Weather Alive marked a significant creative rebirth.
The 2022 album earned widespread acclaim, with The New York Times praising its storytelling and vocal performances, while Pitchfork awarded it Best New Music and MOJO hailed the strength of its songwriting and arrangements.
If Weather Alive represented a return, The Ground Above feels more like a consolidation of everything that has made Orton’s work resonate for nearly three decades: emotional honesty, fearless experimentation and an unwavering commitment to following her instincts.
Thirty years after emerging as one of the defining voices of Britain’s alternative music scene, Beth Orton continues to evolve — and The Ground Above may be her most personal statement yet.