The typical reaction when one hears that a band has emerged from a decade-long hiatus with a new album is typically a sensation of doubt and skepticism regarding the artist in question. Well, at least that's the critic's typical response. The raging fanboy is more likely to start jumping up and down and shouting with glee after having something approximating an orgasm.Portishead has fallen into this category with their latest release, the first in 10 years, aptly titled Third. However, after numerous spins, I find that my skepticism at whether or not this is a washed-out comeback to pay the bills has washed off. Third is a competent album in its own right. The years have altered the band's sound in many ways and much to my liking; Third sounds little like their prior trip-hop efforts Dummy (1994) and Portishead (1997). I'm certainly not the first reviewer to state that, with Third, Portishead has gone a route more along the lines of industrial with a very dark aesthetic. There's actually a rather broad range of stylistic choices to the music.
Opening track "Silence" starts with a quick beat and some ghostly synths, cutting off abruptly. "Hunter" is much slower with an ominous progression. "Nylon Smile" features melancholy lyrics paired with a a creepy, almost claustrophobic music despite its minimal use of instruments. I love the way it ends, with all the music cutting out, leaving Beth Gibbons' voice hanging on the last few words: "I never had the chance to explain exactly what I meant." Progressing to "The Rip," we move to slow progression, quiet guitars, synths faded in about two and a half minutes in, and the return of those melancholy lyrics. Make no mistake, it's a pretty bleak record, not meant for cheering you up. If there's a track that doesn't particularly interest me, it's "Plastic." At least not until 1:40 in. That's when it shifts gears and gets intense, only to go back to its meandering. "We Carry On" is quite danceable. "Deep Water" stands out from the rest by being a quiet little acoustic number that sets us up (or off balance) for the next track, without argue the best song on the album, the biting electronic industrial "Machine Gun."
There's a reason "Machine Gun" was picked as the first single: it's the most intense song on the album and damn good at evoking an emotional response. "Machine Gun" consists mostly of synthetic percussion in a blistering rhythm, paired with Gibbons' haunting voice; it's a powerful combination. If you take nothing else from this album, at least take "Machine Gun." The only flaw in this song is what my friend Frank (Systems of Romance) refers to as a "John Carpenter score" keyboard solo for a closing (he liked that part; I'm not crazy about it). While a tad lame, the rest of the song hits hard enough to make that solo fairly easy to overlook. It's a tough track to follow, but "Small" manages to hold its own. "Small" is actually a bit of an oddity, starting slow and featuring a synthesized violin sound, organ vaguely reminiscent of The Doors and a echoed guitar riff halfway though that calls up Pink Floyd. The test pattern noise at the start of "Magic Doors" is annoying as all hell, but the rest of the song isn't bad. "Threads" is a great late night cruise home track with its creepy high-pitch sound running in the background and the groove the guitar and bass get in; wait for the thunder on this one.
Portishead is very much driven by the mental image created by listening to their music, and Third creates images of dark, barren cities and flickering street lamps at night before a rainfall. I find the emotional ambiance to the music and Beth Gibbons' voice to be quite effective and conjuring this image and setting me adrift in this alternate world.
To be honest, I didn't really like the first two Portishead albums. That variety of trip-hop/electronic music never appealed to me that much. But Third grabs me in a way that I find difficult to describe. I like a band that shows growth and departure from what they've done prior (see Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, His Name Is Alive, Tom Waits among others). Even then, I find Third to be something that needs to be warmed to. Initially, I thought it was boring, but it holds up better under repeat listens. Don't dismiss it on the first, second, or even third listen; keep spinning it.
The liner notes are a bit sparse. Open the jewel case, slide out the sheet, and we unfold it to find an awesome three-panel panoramic picture of the image they were no doubt attempting to create in our minds. Power lines and towers, overcast skies, all very dark and in a deep shade of turquoise. We also get a list of songwriting credits and additional personnel, but there's not much else. There isn't much of a cover image to speak of (capital letter P with a number 3 layered over; turquoise background), and no other album art save the stylishly blurry back cover photo of the band performing. They could have done more to dress this up; seriously, they've been gone a decade! Show some spirit and make something damn pretty!
It took me awhile to warm up to this album, and, while I wouldn't call it the top of this year's releases, Third is most certainly a fine album and worth checking out. It's definitely a departure from their prior material, but consider it an embarkation into a new sonic journey. This cynic appreciated Portishead's effort; so why not at least give it a try? The band's blog states that they are excited about writing more new material, and I hope it continues down the road Third started, heading into a cloudy night.
Portishead's official website and myspace
