Net Music Review

Hailing from Bristol they broke at the same time as other local contemporaries such as Massive Attack and Tricky and helped to define what was known as trip-hop as well as spawning a million imitators. When trip-hop and the imitators vanished everybody assumed that Portishead had gone the same way too so when they announced the release of Third it took us all by shock. Bands such as Morcheeba initially echoed the Portishead sound but then moved away from the dark edginess and morphed it into something that would be played at dinner parties all over the land. So, 11 years after their self titled second album it is a welcome relief to have Portishead back to show us all how it should be done.

What sets Portishead apart from the rest is their continuing desire to produce something original. Other may simply keep on using the same format, the same template until it becomes boring, not Portishead who along with Radiohead seem to be the only groups pushing any boundaries. What you get with Third is a dark, atmospheric record that cries out to be listened to as a whole rather than dipped in and out of.

Silence opens the album with a spoken word sample before rolling drums kick in and over the course of what seems like an eternity the tension builds until Gibbons trill vocals piece the atmosphere. It is then that you remember that this is Portishead and from then on there are a few nods back to the glory days of the early/mid nineties but then ends in the most abrupt of manners. Hunter again reminds you of those early days while still building on the dark, foreboding tone that has already been set and you realise that this is not going to be a comfortable journey through the rest of the album. Its deep bass and plodding tempo interrupted by a dirty guitar splurge build a desolate picture. As the record progresses songs seem to blend seamlessly into one another making them difficult to distinguish, this is no bad thing however, it just encourages the listener to think of it in its entirety.

There are some standout tracks here, the first of which is The Rip, starting off so delicately with acoustic guitar and Gibbons singing over gentle string arrangements in the background sounding almost distant. The whole tone is then suddenly changed by layered electronic tones at the same time the beat kicks in to get as close to psycadelic as Portishead will ever get. Plastic harks back to the early Portishead sound and trip-hop but with the strings being replaced by electronic wizardry. We Carry On has a somewhat primal feel to it, almost paranoia with its two tone bass line repeating endlessly and Gibbons fractured, fragile voice. Electronic sounds flit in and out and adds to the sense of impending doom, and is a glorious demonstration of what this album is all about. Deep Water breaks the tension with its delicate acoustic strumming and Gibbons voice at its most vulnerable and the almost humorous (This is Portishead after all) babershop backing vocals. The single Machine Gun draws on Krautock influences with its mechanical repetitive beat and feels as if it could have come straight out of a sci-fi movie soundtrack when the synths join in midway thorough, you could almost imagine it playing at the end of the next terminator film.

It would be unfair to say that this was a return to form as Portishead have never produced any bad records, but after waiting for so long that is what it feels like. It is hard to imagine a more challenging album being released this year, one that given the attention that it deserves will not disappoint and will surely get even better with time.

Portishead - Third

2008 Go! Discs Ltd

Producer: Portishead

Players:

Beth Gibbons

Geoff Barrow

Adrian Utley

Tracklisting:

Silence

Hunter

Nylon Smile

The Rip

Plastic

We Carry On

Deep Water

Machine Gun

Small

Magic Doors

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