REVIEW: Third

Portishead
Third
© 2008 Island Records

I don’t know about you, but Portishead’s Dummy and Portishead were two of my top high-school albums. So I was disappointed when, apart from the release of their phenomenial live album Roseland NYC Live, the band’s hiatus stretched on and on. I had long since given up hope when I caught wind of the release of the band’s follow up album Third. I wasted no time in getting my hands on it, but tried to not have any illusions; few bands have ever returned after so many years of silence without major change. I am glad that I had prepared myself.

Their first two albums were marked by a blend of smoky, torch-singer vocals, turntablism, and warm, shadowy trip-hop that drew heavily on jazz and R&B. Singer Beth Gibbons’ distinctive voice was the centerpiece to their sound, giving life to tragic lyrics that often bordered on the surreal.

“Only You” off of Portishead


Third is a very different album. Evidently unconstrained by their past releases, the band forged into new avenues, allowing for something new rather than simply a thing for patient fans. The biggest change is the loss of most of the jazz stylings. Instead, Third makes heavy use of a blend of harsh mechanical noise and indie-folk elements. The role of Gibbons’ voice—which has acquired a quieter, more delicate character over the years—has been shifted to more a part of the music. The result is less trip-hop and more of an experimental indie-electonic feel like múm’s Go Go Smear the Poison Ivy or Bjørk’s Volta.

The album contains a wide range of sound, from the harsh to the mellow and is well represented by its three singles, “Machine Gun,” “The Rip,” and “Magic Doors”

“The Rip” is one of the harshest songs on the album, with simple, shatteringly distorted percussion and fragile vocals that weave through the noise. The sound may be new, but the bleak, yet provocative darkness of the song is pure Portishead,

“Machine Gun”


“The Rip” will be more familiar to Portishead fans as it gives considerable focus to the vocals and, while the music uses a folk—rather than jazz—base, it displays many of the elements of the classic Portishead sound.

“The Rip”


“Magic Doors” is, in some ways, a midpoint between “The Rip” and “Machine Gun.” While featuring the heavy percussion of “Machine Gun,” it tempers it with a softer sound and a rising presence of atmospherics, piano, and horns.

“Magic Doors” (no video)


With Third, Portishead have managed to do something very few bands are able to do: reinvent themselves without loosing their identity. While the differences between the Portishead of 1998 and that of 2008 may be jarring at first, further listening reveals more and more connective threads, more familiar themes. We can only hope that this is a true return for the band. I would love to see where they go next.

STRONGLY RECCOMENDED IF… you enjoy contemporary electronica. Those nostalgic for 90s Trip-Hop may be initially disappointed, but are encouraged to give Third a second listen; this is one of those albums that really grows on you. (Similarly, those who are i unfamiliar with the band’s earlier work may find going back through the catalog odd as well.)

MP3: CD: