| F E A T U R E S T H O U G H T S R E V I E W S N E W S e v e n t s d i r e c t o r y | |
Third By Jeremy Grand After more than a decade, the long awaited and anticipated third studio album from the English trip-hop band Portishead has finally been released. Hopefully not forgotten after all of this time, the sound and eerie vocals of Beth Gibbons sounds just as brilliant and unique as it did 10 years ago. The aptly titled Third is exactly what every Portishead fan was waiting for. Their first two albums, Dummy and the self-titled follow-up, had songs that never aged since their inception, and on this newest release we can all expect the same to happen. That hauntingly beautiful and mellow goodness that comes from machine and British musical artistry can only come from the pioneering efforts of Gibbons, Geoff Barrow, and Adrian Utley, and for all those Portis-heads out there, this is hopefully the beginning of another start, rather than another hiatus. Third also has some unexpected twists, like "Deep Water," which sounds like Gibbons floating along a river with a ukulele and a parasol, and "Machine Gun," which starts off sounding exactly how the song title suggests, and continues on to that amazing Portishead feeling that fans had come to love. "Nylon Smile" is another standout, Gibbons' falsetto vocals over pings and trippy beats and gorgeous artificial flavor. That period between albums was too long, and fans were left hanging and wondering if Portishead would ever return. Gibbons came out with Out of Season with Rustin' Man a few years ago, which was beautiful of course, but was lacking the same energy that the full band produced, and left everyone even more confused about their status. But with no more confusion, Third should quench the thirst of raving Portishead fans, and hopefully will create a whole new generational appreciation for trip-hop. |
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