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Amazon.co.uk
Portishead's Third has been a long time coming, the result of a lengthy creative torpor following 1997's dark, distinctly underrated album Portishead. Importantly, though, they've shaken it. While the core trio of Beth Gibbons, Geoff Barrow, and Adrian Utley remains, this is quite a different band to Portishead's 90s incarnation: gone is the slo-mo turntable scratching and smoky jazz feel, replaced by heavy, brooding rhythms, vintage-sounding electronics, and spindly guitar. Still present, though, is that sense of emotional fracture and deep gloom. "Silence" opens with a dense drum loop which suddenly falls away to reveal Gibbons' voice, cold but magnificent: "Wounded and afraid, inside my head/Falling through changes". "Nylon Smile", meanwhile, is a fine example of Third's occasional folksy edge, an acoustic song reminiscent of Leonard Cohen that, around its midpoint, lifts off on a propulsive electronic rhythm, Gibbons holding one clear, hard note as synthesisers bubble beneath. At times, it's a harsh and foreboding listen: the electronic drums of "Machine Gun" might put off the listener hoping for smooth dinner party fare. But Third is a brave and forward-thinking return, and one great enough to justify its lengthy gestation. --Louis Pattison

Customer Reviews: Read 162 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

Third April 29, 2008
194 out of 227 found this review helpful

"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.

5 out of 5 stars

A Haunting, Claustrophobic Vision! A Perfect Comeback! April 29, 2008
63 out of 94 found this review helpful

A 10-year hiatus is enough to make even the most optimistic fan doubtful. Portishead decided to stop making music together back in the late nineties, so it's hard to believe that there were many people out there holding out hope for a comeback by the time the band started to reemerge in 2005. But now, basically 11 years after their last studio album was released, the trip hop pioneers have been gracious enough to give us another fantastic album; whether we were expecting it or not.

From the very beginning, long time fans will notice that Third has a very different feel from their previous two albums. The album begins with a seemingly insignificant soundbite of a man speaking in Portuguese. He speaks of the Wiccan "Rule of Three," which is similar to the "golden rule" in Christianity or Karma in Eastern religions. Essentially it means that any energy put out by a person will be returned to him, be it good or bad. The lyrics of the song reflect this cyclical idea. Beth moans in the song's chorus, "Did you know when you lost?/ Did you know when I wanted?/ Did you know what I lost?/ Did you know what I wanted?" It is a haunting way to reintroduce yourself to the world, but in many ways its sets the tone for Third.

On "Hunter," a neo-noir masterpiece, Beth's vocals float hauntingly over acoustic guitars and a jazz kit. In the chorus, Beth coldly questions, "And if I should fall/ would you hold me?/ Would you pass me by?" The song breaks down several times with a jarring 4-note synth line that serves to add to the song's already frightening nature. "Nylon Smile" is more in line with Portishead of old, with a very cool reverse-synth line that carries throughout the song's 3 1/2 minutes. Beth sings of self-doubt and her need to change into someone that she can stand. She sings, "I struggle with myself/ hoping I might change a little/ hoping that I might be/ someone I want to be." It's a beautiful song despite its depressing subject matter.

"The Rip" is a personal favorite of mine, being the first song on the album that got stuck in my head. In the song's first half, Beth sings, "Wild white horses/ they will take me away/ and the tenderness I feel/ will send the dark underneath/ Will I follow?" over a simple acoustic guitar and what sounds like an oboe in the distance. Those lyrics are gorgeous, people. Also gorgeous is then the acoustic guitar that is soon replaced with a moog-ish synth sound. It's one of the album's cooler moments and I can't get enough of it! It's followed by "Plastic," a less poppy, darker affair. Its chorus is complemented by bombastic drums and a thick electronic buzz-saw of a bass. The production here is incredible, taking seemingly incompatible parts and making them sound fluid and natural.

"We Carry On" takes a bass-heavy, industrial beat and carries it throughout its length, adding in sketchy guitars and minimalist drums as it progresses. It's one of Third's most memorable songs, if only for its persistence. Where other songs tend to be somewhat reluctant, this one charges out of the gate and never lets up, forcing the listener to perk up and listen intently. "Deep Water" is the album's only "upper." Featuring nothing but a ukulele and vocals, it is a hopeful song about overcoming adversity. Beth sings in a childlike whimper, "I'm drifting in deep waters/ alone with my self doubting again/ try not to struggle this time/ for I will weather the storm." It's one of my favorite songs on Third, mostly because it's a glimmer of hope in an album that is as bleak as they come.

"Machine Gun," the album's first single, features a commanding drum loop and Beth's haunting vocals almost exclusively. Beth is left to harmonize with herself, and the end result is truly affecting. Still, the song can get a bit repetitive by the time the haunted house synths come in at the 4-minute mark. It's a decent song, to be sure, but there is better on Third. Case in point: "Small," the album's longest and most chilling track. It starts out softly, with Beth crooning, "If I remember the night that we met/ tasted a wine that I'll never forget/ open the doorway and saw through the light / motions of movement, and I felt alive." It slowly builds, adding an upright bass and harmonies before busting out with one of the album's trip-hoppiest chord progressions. After several minutes of uptempo grooves, the instrumentation once again drops out, leaving only the bass and vocals.

"Magic Doors" gives the albums one of its catchier tunes, and it's one of the few that I can even picture myself singing along to. It features Third's most upfront arrangement, with lush instrumentation throughout, including, a steady drum beat, synths, a piano, and bass. It's a great song, and a wonderful change of pace. The band slows things back down for the closer, however, and it's simply stunning! "Threads" is a song that is brilliantly arranged, with nothing feeling excessive or lacking. It changes pace unpredictably, and features Beth's best vocal performance on the album - possibly ever! The moment comes at about the 4:05 mark when Beth begins singing with every ounce of her being. To be honest, the first time I listened to Third, I wasn't that impressed with Beth's vocals. I felt like she spent too much time trying to sound like a floaty witch, even when the music didn't require it. But this one moment completely negated my concerns, and made me realize just what she was trying to accomplish with her vocal stylings.

If Third could be described in a single word, that word would be "claustrophobic." From the very beginning to it's amazing conclusion, Third is an album that exudes hopelessness and despair. Listening to it, I can't help but close my eyes and picture the band playing inside of a tiny cell, desperately longing to be free. There are glimpses of hope - beams of light shining through a tiny cell window - but the overall mood that is conveyed with Third is incredibly bleak. As such, many of the more radio-friendly sides of Portishead have been shed to make way for a sound that is much more raw, more emotional and real. Whether this album is even definable as "trip hop" is debatable. I have heard the term "torture chamber pop," applied too, which is definitely headed in the right direction. As it stands though, Third is a difficult album to define, and Portishead should be credited with that. It is an album whose technical merits are outdone only by the emotional shadow that it casts on its listener. It is unlike anything I've ever had the pleasure of hearing, and it is a journey that absolutely needs to be experienced!

Key Tracks:
1. "Hunter"
2. "The Rip"
3. "Deep Water"
4. "Magic Doors"
5. "Threads"

9 out of 10 Star

5 out of 5 stars

Portishead's Third - At Long Last, They're Back! April 29, 2008
42 out of 58 found this review helpful

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!

2 out of 5 stars

Prepare to be very disappointed May 2, 2008
27 out of 55 found this review helpful

I loved the first three albums of Portishead (including the live one), and believe that they hold up remarkably well. As many fans, I bought the album as soon as it was announced. And it was the biggest musical disappointment in recent memory. Have you ever listened to Morricone's "serious" (and serial) music? Or Gershwin's attempts at serious (Ravel-influenced) experiments? Or Zappa's fixation with Edgar Varese? These are all examples of gifted popular musicians with a knack for melody and harmony, who give in to an inferiority complex and give a shot at respectability. In the case of "Third", the album is significantly more angular, harder to listen, and ultimately a failure. There is not an interesting melodic line, and the arrangements and moods have lost all their originality. Beth Gibbons has turned into a parody of herself. It's depressing and saddening. I could barely bear the musical death of Massive Attack. But Portishead? Is Bristol turning into the city of the undead???

2 out of 5 stars

All Tension, No Release. April 30, 2008
23 out of 39 found this review helpful

"It reminds me of what a headache feels like... and why we get them," is how a friend put it.

In past albums, Portishead has done an amazing job of pushing the envelope. This album went too far though.

The music was all tension and no release. It felt like it should be building to something, but never broke.

Portishead is one of those great bands that can get under your skin, make you a little bit uncomfortable, and then transport you someplace new. This album only did the first two, but completely missed the all important third step. It did not open up to anything. It was like they were so pleased with their ability to create a creepy narcotic vibe, that they never bothered to consider what use they were going to put it to.

It might as well have been a 45 minute sound check.

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