Portishead - Third
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Free Music Notes for Third
Free Music Review: Third
Hit: 5 Stars
"We really wanted to sound like ourselves but not sound like ourselves. It was always going to be difficult." - Geoff Barrow, Pitchfork Media interview, Apr. 7, 2008.
Geoff Barrow and the rest of Portishead had every reason in the world to feel this way. When Dummy debuted in 1994, it didn't sound like anything else and wasn't even expected to sell 50,000 copies. It's hard to believe in this day and age, but Dummy's dark, torchy pop punctuated with hip-hop beats and swimming in a sea of bass had never before been co-opted by anyone--not even Massive Attack, who had approached trip-hop from more of a dance perspective. It blew up, sparking a trip-hop genesis in alt-rock circles looking for a viable (and similarly angst-ridden) alternative to grunge, especially in the States. Now, of course, Dummy's sound is everywhere, from the umpteen upstart trip-hop bands that subsequently appeared to spy films, cocktail parties and massage therapy commercials. So we would be forgiven for not being bowled over by Dummy today, and Portishead would be forgiven for wanting to distance themselves from it.
When last we heard from Portishead, it seemed as though they were packing it in for good, leaving us with a slightly less fresh self-titled album in 1997 and a live recording at Manhattan's Roseland Ballroom in 1998 before retreating into the shadows. Always something of an enigma and quite shy of the press, it was left to us to assume that Portishead was frustrated with how their crown jewel had been assimilated and watered-down, and that they were too daunted by the challenge that Barrow mentioned above to record a third album: How do you sound like yourself and not sound like yourself? All of which makes Third--a record that wasn't even supposed to exist--such a cryptically dazzling triumph. Third is no Dummy: It's much bleaker, makes precious few references to pop, and attains a level of creepiness that Dummy's strangest song, "Wandering Star," only suggested. Yet one listen to Third is all it takes to realize that nobody else is making music quite like this, and this is how Portishead still sound like themselves. In fact, hearing Third in 2008 may clue us into what it was like to hear Dummy in 1994.
Counterintuitive as it may seem, the first thing to do when approaching Third is to forget about trip-hop and all the associations it carries. Barrow's drums stay far, far away from a hip-hop swagger; rather than providing a backbone, these diverse rhythms teeter on edge with the rest of the music and add another ominous layer to the mix. "Plastic" uses amped, clipped drum rolls that send the song screeching to a halt about a dozen times, and "We Carry On" is driven by a scary tom-led tribal stomp (Morcheeba this isn't). Barrow doesn't cop out by adding bassy undercurrents for cheap mystery; instead, he punches up the compression and keeps the sound trebly and brittle, giving the impression that everything is flying right at you even when the songs stand still. Third may be stubbornly unsexy, but that doesn't mean it's not alluring. Indeed, it wields an odd magnetic power that draws the listener ever further into its disorienting abyss, even when all of the elements jump bluntly out of the speakers.
By the same token, Third's allure doesn't make it an easy listen, and it can be particularly heady when experienced in one straight pass. The sequencing feels all wrong, moving up and down and up again in the most unsettling of ways. After the distorted anti-song "Silence" kicks the record off, Portishead dips into the heavily narcotized haunted house of "Hunter," where Beth Gibbons' vocals drift sleepily and hypnotically through the arrangement. "We Carry On" is followed by the 90-second respite "Deep Water," which sounds like Gibbons fronting the Ink Spots over a ukulele melody, before being gunned down by the incessant staccato rapid-firing of "Machine Gun." Through it all, Gibbons sings like an innocent bystander; divorced from and frightened by the music around her, she becomes our stand-in for its unfamiliar territory. She contributes little to the record compositionally and melodically, but remove her and obliterate a sizable chunk of Third's emotional punch.
The members of Portishead are noted experimentalists, but they don't just make cool sounds for fun. The backward-looped guitar on "Nylon Smile," the warped ascending scales on "Hunter," and the many other weird noises that crop up on Third contain an element of caution like aural barbed wire: As unpleasant as they may be, they're there to keep us from venturing somewhere truly dangerous. The creepy Portuguese television program that begins "Silence" seems appropriate, since listening to Third can feel as though we're tuning into a channel that we're not meant to know about or watch. I imagine that trip-hop in its nascent form--Massive Attack's Mezzanine, Tricky's Maxinquaye, and yes, Portishead's Dummy--was originally meant to invoke this sort of forbidden underworld, but that somewhere down the road the plot got lost, and its darkness and foreboding turned into something more manageable, fashionable and marketable. By rescuing trip-hop from a fate of Banana Republic soundtracks and putting their extremely personal stamp on a tired genre, Portishead have re-established themselves not simply as masters of their craft, but as reinventors of it.
Free Music Review: A New Direction
Hit: 5 Stars
"menacing", "dark", "frightening" are all words you will see when reading reviews for the album. Third is not a quick thrills kind of record.
This is meant to be heard in long play format, and won't give you much instant gratification.
However, the long term rewards are well worth the investment. Portishead have grown, and continue to shown their revelance for the listener that begs to be fed.
"silience"
the album begins with a formal sounding porugusee voice saying something to the affect of "you'll get what you deserve"..
you are then led to a wind up of various eletronic instruments until they all come together into a nice groove.
the melodic bass line complements the drum track perfectly. at about 230 we are greeted with
the familar vocals of beth gibbons "...wounded and afraid.....going through changes". then it fully comes together,
you realize that you are listening to the first new portishead music in 10 years. the cello heard through out
really is the icing on the cake of this enjoyable opener.
"hunter"
to all those that think portishead would be a good choice to do a james bond theme song, this song adds more fuel to that fire.
pounding toms with tourchured guitar make a good back drop for beth to swoon. "if i should fall would you hold me"?
need you ask beth?
"nylon smile"
this track has a middle eastern flair with a very simple effective groove. you can picture
a picture beth snaking charming the pants off of lover. this is a possible 3rd single on the album.
this songs seems to be about beth's curtain relationship. "i dont know what i've dont to deserve you,
I don't know what'd I do without you". Hopefully she has found someone worthy of her love.
"the rip"
very similar to beth's solo album. we are treated to a simple classical guitar that starts off this gorgeuos
slow burner. What other song can you think of that feautures a bassoon during the climax? The vocal effects
used on beth are truly appreciated when listened to at a high volume. This song was mixed and mastered perfectly.
"Plastic"
Broken beats, and the first sign on the album of classic portishead. This track could have fit in very well on their second album,
and may be the track that links the two together. The classic stop, start method works again, and we know
begin to see how the old portishead and the new fit together. This track is quite deep, filled with a lot of pink floyd snyth,
and depths of hell moans.
"We Carry On"
A highlight of the recent tour, this track shows that Portishead is still progressing. "The taste of life I can't descibe"...envelopes
Silver Apples esque rhythms. The raw guitars and fantastic drumming really work well here. The music break down of the climax
rivals the high moments off OK Computer. The changes of tempo and structure make this quite a thrill to soak in.
"Deep Water"
The first real shocker on the album comes equip with barbershop vocals courtsey of the someerfield workers choir, and ukulele.
"Machine Gun"
Now the album takes a sharp turn into much darker territory.
Here is where the meanacing comments come in to play. Led by a brutal repetitive drum track, this song can only be appreciated
on a nice stereo system. If you can last until the end you are treated with a climatic symth line that tops off the unforgiving
first single. This song really must have been what Geoff was worried about on his blog, when he worried whether or not they
would "piss off the fondue society". Beth's beautiful vocal and second shadow track really make this song listenable. They really
wanted to challenge the listner here, and they succeeded.
"Small"
Probably a track that would fit on a cold rainy night by the fire place. This is really a signal that we are in the gut on the album.
Slow guitars lead you through a emotional ride through beth's fragile mind. This track has a middle section
that could have been on any doors album, and has enough musical goodies to entertain you through out.
"Magic Doors"
Whoever there there would be cowbell on a portishead record? Just one of many surprizes on third.
The lyrics "I can't deny what I've become, I'm just emotionally undone" flow perfeclly with the smooth bass led opening.
Another left turn near the end with brief saxophone segway into beth's final few words. This track is one of
the more accesible tracks on Third.
"Threads"
A lot of fans have singled this out as their favorite on various blogs and message boards. As with "Plastic" we see a slight connection
to older Portishead with this one. Another song that fits in with the songs on the second album, this track in a long closer that
really tops off the album quite well. Beth gives a knockout bluesy vocal performance that leaves you begged for more, yet very
satisfied.
Free Music Review: The most satisfying album I've heard in years
Hit: 5 Stars
Well, it's been eleven years since Portishead's last studio album, but it's finally here. The aptly named third album, Third, is about as satisfying as albums get. It's hauntingly beautiful and wholly representative of what Portishead is capable of. Far from falling behind the rest of the music scene in the last decade, the band has managed to craft one of the most original-sounding albums I've heard in years.
Who invented trip hop is a matter of debate to some people, but for my two cents, there is no argument about who defined the genre. Massive Attack, Tricky and Portishead. If you think of trip hop as one big Venn diagram, those are the three circles which represent all of trip hop's possibilities and every trip hop act falls somewhere under their influence. It's practically the definition of the genre: A band is a trip hop act if you can put them somewhere in that Venn diagram.
This makes Portishead one of the three pillars of trip hop and their latest album not only cements their already formidable standing in the genre, but it expands the band's sound into uncharted territory and may force other bands to rethink their own conceptions of the scene as a whole.
Beth Gibbons' vocals are amazing--not just like they already were in earlier efforts, but vastly improved. Her voice has clearly changed slightly over the last decade (no surprise) and her range seems to have extended greatly and her control over difficult vocal transitions in songs like We Carry On is truly mind blowing at times.
Utley and Barrow work their characteristic magic as well, Utley contributing exactly what he needs to, nothing more and nothing less, perfect in every way and Barrow pushing the music forward, sometimes relentlessly urgent and pensive in the samples and beats chosen as the musical backdrop. Every element in these songs has been heard before, though not all in Portishead songs, but never have they been arranged quite like they are on Third. Even the band's earlier albums never sounded like this, incorporating elements from industrial, old old school German techno, folksy jazz guitar riffs, and some truly jarring inter-track transitions that feel like you've just been run into a brick wall.
Third is one of the most vaguely unsettling albums to come around in a long time and yet it still feels so good to listen to. At no point does it let you rest and just sit back and fade into the music. The constant sense that you never know what's going to come next always lies just under the surface, drawing you in closer, forcing you to listen attentively waiting for the other shoe to drop. And when it finally does, it's so rewarding that you can't help but listen even closer, waiting for the next surprise. It's like some kind of twisted pavlovian experiment, each reward surpassing the last until the album finally ends, beckoning you to start over from the beginning and go again (and again, and again). The term "rewards multiple listens" doesn't even begin to describe the complexity of this disc, and yet it seems immediately accessible, enjoyable from the drop of the first beat.
Third is ultimately an exercise in contradictions. It's soulful and mechanical. It's a hauntingly retro throwback that's still painfully cutting edge. It's smooth and jarring, soothing and unsettling. It's uncomfortable and inviting. And throughout it all, it's achingly beautiful. I haven't heard anything like it in years if I've heard anything else like it at all.
The first track, Silence, has got to be the most perfect intro track ever. In five minutes it not only completely encompasses everything Portishead has done before but brings you screaming right through the last ten years of silence and straight into Portishead's new sound. It's like a recursive acronym with the recursive, self-descriptive element at the end of the string. It begins by building on where Portishead left off and then just keeps building and building upon itself until it finally (and rather abrubtly) just stops dead--straight into the next track, Hunter, which picks up some of the band's old torch music sound but tweaks it just enough to sound like no other song you've ever heard. It's a bold proclamation right from the start, "Yes, we're back. Yes, we're still Portishead. No, we're not remaking Dummy."
And that's really the only theme throughout the whole album, Portishead is back and better than ever. God only knows what's going on under the surface here. The band is only slightly less reclusive this time around (every publicity shot I've seen of Beth still captures her looking at the ground and nowhere near the camera) so explanations are scarce. It's so experimental as to be almost opaque and yet it's so damn good that you can't help but keep listening and trying, always trying to figure out what it all means. Absolutely amazing. I only wish they were touring the US right now and not Europe so I could see them perform some of the new material live.
Free Music Review: Portishead's Third - At Long Last, They're Back!
Hit: 5 Stars
Third
The last few years have been really good to me in terms of new music that I can listen to, but no group has been able to fill the void left by the absence of Portishead for way too long. That's why, like so many fans, I have been salivating over this album ever since I heard they were working on it. In fact I've been playing the Dummy and Portishead albums almost continuously over the past 3 days before I got a hold of this. :)
Well, I listened to teasers and clips and then when I got my paws on my copy of Third I listened to it over and over. I am very happy to be hearing Portishead again. Sure, if I was forced to compare, I would have to say that `Dummy' still has no equal among their three studio albums and their other stuff too. Still, this album is more experimental but isn't as far off as I thought it was going to be based upon the initial reviews I read. This album is a winner for me. It only took 4 listens for it to really grow on me. At least now I know that they are working on more stuff, and I have no doubt that they will continue to produce great music as long as they keep making new stuff.
They put out several teaser tracks over the past year that ended up making it on the album. `Machine Gun' is one of those tracks, and it will undoubtedly be one of the first singles. It just has a lot of mainstream appeal relative to other stuff on the album. Something about that constant machine gun background that fits so well. I'm surprised that some have singled out this song as being their least favorite, but I expect to hear this song commercialized and played often. The lyrics are another story, and you can be the judge as to the deeper meanings of this and other tracks. ;-)
But my favorite tracks are `Nylon Smile,' `Plastic' and `Magic Doors.' `Nylon Smile' kind of feels like the Portishead we know and love. `Plastic' takes advantage of that amazing voice that Beth Gibbons is famous for. Not everybody likes it, but everybody has to take notice when they hear it! And `Magic Doors' is just an awesome all-around song that in my mind joins the best of the new tone of this album with the best of old-school Portishead.
But as a whole this album is a new direction. Tracks like `Hunter' and `Threads' take the slow melancholy we have come to expect from Portishead and expand upon it. And tracks like `Silence,' `Nylon Smile' and `We Carry On' add a faster urgent beat that makes them more club friendly.
`Deep Water' and `Small' add the most food for thought to this album. Each of those songs is a mood piece that really takes the melancholy this group is known for to new depths.
All around the tracks seem to have put the Vocals more in the background than previous albums, which for me is a shame. You still hear her voice come through, it's just with more effects and distance to soften it.
Even though they are very different groups, listening to this album has really reminded me of Radiohead's progression over time from albums like OK Computer to Kid A and In Rainbows. This is not nearly as drastic a transition as Radiohead made from their earlier albums. Yet we still see the progression of a band moving more and more into new and more experimental directions. In a sense the melodic quality of the vocals have been toned down on this album just as they were on those others. The rhythm and soundstage have been moved even more to the forefront on `Third.'
I for one am happy with this and I will look forward to whatever Portishead produces next.
Enjoy!
Free Music Review: Could Portishead's long awaited return possibly please any more?
Hit: 5 Stars
I am extremely impressed with Portishead's willingness to return to their trade after a ten year hiatus. It can't be easy to get back into the swing of things, but with all of their live performances running back to their curation of last year's All Tomorrow's Parties to the release of this album, Portishead have proved that they haven't lost their steam and they are still a staple of their genre.
On the first listen, two songs stood out to me especially, The Rip and Deep Water. Both songs have major tonalities and feature acoustic guitars. What this immediately reminded me of was the tenderness of It Could Be Sweet from the bands debut album, Dummy, although lyrically these songs are still dismal enough to be characteristic of Beth Gibbons' style while It Could Be Sweet was a unique departure. The Rip showcases simple acoustic arpeggios before it transitions smoothly into a steady rhythm, with the same arpeggios played with a synthesizer. Deep Water is equally as tender and lovely. The song is a simple ukulele strum played over some of Gibbons' most touching lyrics to date. There is no rhythm, just a fleeting minute and a half of grace and joy.
And then, those dirty little rascals, they use the innocence of Deep Water to highlight the deep contrast of emotions that this album showcases by exploding into its polar opposite. Right when you closed your eyes and fall asleep on the island surrounded by deep water, a B-52 with a giant "P" painted on the side nukes it. Machine Gun is as rhythmically catchy as the band has ever been. It is horny and bass heavy to the point that it is disturbing. Machine Gun is excellent, as it goes back to the vibe of Dummy by succeeding in being tragic as well as sexy, yet this time bare in comparison to the intricate dressings that might be found on the self titled album. A juggernaut of a single, with one hell of a scope.
If that self titled album could be considered a pinpointed rifle shot, Third is a spread from a sawed off shotgun. The years of preparation pay off with a slew of ideas that are successfully pursued throughout. A brutal waltz, gentle elegies, and disorganized shards of emotion are spread throughout the album, yet have several unifying elements. One of them is that they are designed to surprise with various extremes of different musical dimensions. Another is that most have booming bass tones.
The most important element, however, is Beth Gibbons' vocals. Beth has always been the centerpiece of the music. Make no mistake, the group would be nothing without any one of its members. Geoff Barrow and Adrian Utley have crafted music that is exciting and effective, but Beth is half of the puzzle. She has progressed stylistically as well. The self titled featured quite violent, wicked vocal performances. Those on Third are instead fragile, withering, and wispy. A defining moment on the album is near the end of the final track, Threads, where her voice seems to meld with the music. It is hard to say whether the sound is actually her, a synthesizer, a horn, or a guitar, so much as a pulsating body of sound. Then, percussion takes over just as the vocals reach their most expressive projection. We hear her fade out and periodic violent geysers of sound take over, separated by silence. Communication is clearly not an issue with the members of Portishead.
Portishead's sense of danger and sexual tension finds new ground on Third. Some songs are left deceptively simple and bare, and others are haunted by instruments the band has never used before. In general, Third is dressed down compared to s/t's dense soundscapes, making the pieces less detailed but more poignant. There are many surprises to be found here. Songs unravel themselves slowly, like on the previous two albums, but it becomes obvious that this album is much less lackluster than it seems at first listen, and it is really more organized, complex, and engaging than either of the preceding albums. Third is, like the other two Portishead albums, a sexy, hip, dark masterpiece, and it completes a triad of excellence.