ESQUIRE

There are records which will stomp more noisily to centre stage this month, but none so deserving of the spotlight as the solo debut of Portishead singer Beth Gibbons, her first new material in five years. 'Out Of Season' is an extraordinary album: a heartrending and heady mix of folk, soul and midnight hour jazz in which Gibbons drifts in and out of focus, inhabiting different characters, skilfully negotiating emotional turmoil and moments of bliss. It's the kind of enormously special record, made increasingly rarely, that's destined to be treasured for years. Bewitching.

David Peschek (five stars)