So the new Portishead album has leaked - I’m not sure when the “official” release date is at this point - and I’ve given it a good, hard listen.
It’s outstanding. I’m so pissed that I have to admit this, because after the 11-year gap (God, I’m so old) since the self-titled album, there’s absolutely no way that this record should be this good. Whenever bands take a ridiculously long time to make a followup to a legendary record, the new release cannot live up to the expectations. Even worse, the new record usually sounds like it could have been recorded during the exact same sessions as the previous one, with absolutely no justification for the gap between the two.
But Portishead has done neither; Third is just outstanding. It’s an entirely new sound for the band, though it’s immediately recognizable as Portishead; that is, their collective personality comes through and it has the vibe of one of their records without sounding like “just another Portishead record.” It’s a very “roomy” record - lots of live instruments recorded with people playing them together in a room (or more likely a wry facsimile, knowing Barrow and Utley’s penchant for using consciously “meta” recording techniques) - even synthesizers and bass sound like they were run through amplifiers and mic’ed in a room. At the same time, there are many obvious nods and instances of “breaking the fourth wall” when it comes to these “live” takes - ringing, loose, human drums will suddenly be chopped up and unnaturally gated or edited, while Beth Gibbons’ vocals will stutter and loop on certain notes with as much authority and ribbon microphone warmth as her straight leads.
The songs and sounds are all over the place; though the old, dark Portishead vibe is still intact, nothing on the record falls into the same John Barry-fueled trip hop noir mold. There are acoustic tracks - one in particular (“Deep Water”) sounds like the Velvet Underground’s “After Hours” with a 78 rpm gospel twist. “Machine Gun” sounds like its title, all stuttered noise blasts and distorted 909 snares for percussion with the rest of the sounds being made entirely by Beth Gibbons’ voice until the Blade Runner polysynth-fueled finale. The one song that sounds like it could have come from one of the earlier records, “Plastic,” almost acts as a sly acknowledgment or pastiche of their earlier work, coasting along on bass pulses, minor-key organ, a loose ride-heavy drum beat, but then each sound is gradually dynamited and destroyed over the course of the song, perhaps a nod to the future.
Probably the album of 2008 so far. I can’t wait for it to get a legit release.
I’ve heard that it comes out in early April. I’m a HUGE Portishead fan, so I’m glad to hear that you liked it, since I respect your taste in music. I keep hearing they have a more “raw,” industrial, hard-edged sound here, and I’m not sure what I think about that. A lot of people are saying it works perfectly, though.
I figure that I’ve waited this long for another new release, I can wait another month or so without tracking down any leaks. I’ll probably even buy the CD instead of digital tracks through iTunes or Amazon, just because I love Beth, Geoff, and Adrian so much.
I certainly wouldn’t call anything about the new record “industrial” or “hard-edged,” but that rawness - the looseness, the “live band” sound - definitely comes through. It’s like they made a Steve Albini record or something.
“Machine Gun” is up on YouTube if you want to hear it.
I haven’t listened as closely as I’d like, but so far I’m enjoying “Machine Gun”, “We Carry On”, and “The Rip” the best. I already knew the first two from Youtube videos, though. I still have to give the album more attention.
So far, though, I still prefer the new Goldfrapp as the best of 2008 up until now.
Portishead is one of those bands that I’m pretty sure I’d like if I gave them a listen. I tend to trust and, for the most part, share the musical tastes of those that praise them.
So should I wait for this new album to drop or is there one that’s a good “starter” album?
I hope this question doesn’t open up too big a can of worms! Of course, the album title is “Third” so I’m assuming there are only two now. How big can the can or the worms possibly be?
By the way, I listen to a lot of wierd shit. Accessability may not predicate the best starter album in this case. I’m looking for quality.
Dummy and the self-titled follow-up, Portishead, are two of my favorite albums of the '90s. I highly recommend them if you like your music dark and sexy.
Oh that is not at all what I expected. I thought I liked Portishead - I definitely like the song Teardrop but I thought I remembered liking them beyond that. [deleted]
Actually I’m sorry, I shouldn’t say that in a thread created to praise them. This is simply not for me.
Ya, ditto. I’m gonna say Dummy is among my top 5 all-time albums. I worked at a coffee shop 1996-1998 or so and we played that CD over and over. It really set the mood we (ok, the teenaged, independant-minded employees, not the franchise owner or the corporate office)) we going for. If Dummy, Tribe’s Midnight Mauraders, and Barrington Levy’s hits don’t get people into the coffee shop, what will?
I’ve only heard Machine Gun from the new record and I have to say that I find it terribly abrasive. Winceworthy, I’m afraid. Still looking forward to hearing more new material, though.
It was only recently that I learned Handsome Boy Modeling School’s The Truth with Roisin Murphy wasn’t Portishead. Sounds just like their stuff. Link I’m not responsible for and didn’t even watch the apparently political video in the link.
That’s funny–I once told a band they were so good it made me angry. I’ve never quite understood the reaction, but its good to know I’m not alone in having it.
Holy shit, it’s leaked? Didn’t even read the rest of this thread. Gonna go back and read it now. I am so excited about this, my skin is goosebumping. Please, please, please, don’t let them disappoint me.