Beth Gibbons likes to take her time. Gibbons is the singer for Portishead, a group that’s released a grand total of three albums since 1994. The most recent of those albums is Third, which came out 16 years ago. Outside of Portishead, Gibbons teamed up with former Talk Talk bassist Paul Webb, aka Rustin Man, to release Out Of Season, and she made a 2019 recording of Henryk Górecki’s Symphony No. 3 with the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra. Now, it appears that she’s finally getting ready to release her first-ever solo album.

Way back in 2013, Beth Gibbons announced that she’d signed a solo deal with Domino Records. On Instagram this morning, she posted a handwritten note about her new music, as well as a photo of a hand-drawn CD cover with the title Lives Outgrown. In the note, Gibbons writes, “Hi, it’s been a while but finally along with Domino I am able to offer some new music very soon… I wanted to draw away from breakbeats and snares, focusing on the woody fabric of timbres away from the sugary addiction of high frequencies that satisfy like sugar and salt.” Here’s the full text of her letter:

Hi, it’s been a while but finally along with Domino I am able to offer some new music very soon.

It has been a long journey and spans over a decade, it’s called ‘Lives Outgrown’.

As usual it reflects what’s been going on with me internally, my 50’s have brought forward a new yet older horizon. It has been a time of farewells to family, friends and even to who I was before, the lyrics mirroring my anxieties and sleepless nighttime ruminations, hence ‘Lives Outgrown’. Not just because of the way we travel through emotional or psychological transitions in our lives but relating more to the time we leave this planet and our motion into the unknown. Something I fear but just need to try and celebrate as a moment approaching, gifting the ability to grow beyond the restraints of this physical world.

The sound was also a process, exploring structures within my own personal capabilities. I wanted to draw away from breakbeats and snares, focusing on the woody fabric of timbres away from the sugary addiction of high frequencies that satisfy like sugar and salt.

I hope those of you who have been so loyal and supportive over the years along with any new listeners will enjoy.

love

Beth x

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Last year, Beth Gibbons earned her first-ever Grammy nomination for guesting on “Mother I Sober,” a song from Kendrick Lamar’s 2022 album Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers. She also teamed up with the Miraculous Love Kids, a nonprofit organization, to share a mashed-up cover of Joy Division’s “Atmosphere” and David Bowie’s “Heroes.” Gibbons is one of the most powerful, expressive singers out there, and I can’t wait to hear what she’s spent the past decade cooking up.