''Kidsticks'' is the sixth studio album by English singer-songwriter

Beth Orton Elizabeth Caroline Orton (born 14 December 1970) is an English musician, known for her "folktronica" sound, which mixes elements of folk and electronica. She was initially recognised for her collaborations with William Orbit, Andrew Weatherall, ...

. The album was produced by Orton alongside Andrew Hung from the band

Fuck Buttons Fuck Buttons was an electronic music duo formed in Bristol in 2004 by Andrew Hung and Benjamin John Power. Biography Origins (2004–2008) Hung and Power grew up in Worcester.

, who provided drum and synth programming. The album includes contributions from Chris Taylor of

Grizzly Bear The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horri ...

, George Lewis Jr from Twin Shadow, and composer Dustin O’Halloran. ''Kidsticks'' was released on 27 May 2016, following extensive airplay of the singles "Moon" and "1973" on BBC 6Music and elsewhere.

Release and promotion

Orton was criticised over her music video for the song "1973" in which she is shown spray painting a federally protected

Joshua tree ''Yucca brevifolia'' is a plant species belonging to the genus ''Yucca''. It is tree-like in habit, which is reflected in its common names: Joshua tree, yucca palm, tree yucca, and palm tree yucca. This monocotyledonous tree is native to the ar ...

and other desert plant life. After an outcry from the local community, which included a petition on change.org, the music video was removed online. Orton publicly apologised and the Mojave Desert Trust responded positively to her outreach, stating, "We appreciate that Beth Orton regrets her prior actions, and that she intends to educate others about the natural beauty of the Mojave Desert, and the responsibility we collectively share for protecting this unique environment from vandalism and harm."

Critical reception

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' wrote that "Kidsticks is a real reinvention: not so much a return to her electronic roots as a bold exploration of fresh territory." Philip Sherburne, writing for ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

'', suggested that "a picture emerges of Orton that's anxious, playful, and even supremely relatable. There are love songs here, and falling-out-of-love songs, and sometimes it takes a while to tell which is which." Writing for the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', Ben Ratliff noted that, Orton and collaborator Andrew Hung "created a sound for the record that seems to be made in the image of her voice's middle range. Which is to say, a bit weary, a bit monochromatic."

Track listing

Charts

References

{{Beth Orton 2016 albums Beth Orton albums