Singer Orton Offers Affecting, Stripped-Down Folk

Beth Orton knows how to challenge an audience in all the right ways. At the El Rey Theatre on Friday, the British singer-songwriter performed her music not with the sly trip-hop groove of her acclaimed “Trailer Park” album, but as raw, stripped-down folk. “Hope you weren’t expecting a band, you know,” she said with a shrug. “OK?”

That was hardly a drawback for Orton, who was accompanied on stage only by Ted Barnes on acoustic guitar and bouzouki. In the studio, Orton offers a unique and affecting blend of folk and techno. But she is equally adept simply playing her guitar live, singing songs of delicate emotion and rich melody.

Orton also chose to focus largely on songs from an album that won’t be released until early next year. It was a risky but wise choice. As on 1997’s “Trailer Park,” the new songs explored themes of yearning, self-awareness and troubled romance, from the declaration of personal freedom of “Sweetest Decline” to “Passing Time,” which finds a mother urging a daughter to spend her time wisely before it’s gone.

The singer found a darker mood at the El Rey with the new “Devil’s Song” and “Touch Me With Your Love,” a song from her just-released “Best Bit” EP. Singing plaintively against a low, thumping rhythm, Orton asked, “Will I feel it if I trust enough?”

Like Orton, opening act Ron Sexsmith has injected new energy into folk by mixing traditionalism with modern sensibilities. Standing alone on stage with his guitar, Sexsmith sang with a voice that was both forlorn and wistful.

The Canadian singer performed with the delicate grace of the late Tim Hardin, blending profoundly melodic vocals with simple instrumentation. Sexsmith plumbed the emotional depths without ever drifting into the maudlin.