Portishead
Third
2008, Island Records
electronic rock, trip hop, experimental
After 11 years, Portishead came out with their third album (appropriately labeled Third) in 2008. This album was my introduction to Portishead so I can’t speak for their other albums (yet), but the group has made a reputation for themselves as originals and innovators. I heard a lot of originality in this album, but no real innovation.
Third is an intriguing contrast of the familiar and the displaced, the ordinary that can become extraordinary when used appropriately. The use of a rapidfire beat in “Machine Gun” that emulated the actual sound was jarring and memorable. In fact Portishead also suceeds at the imitation of “The River” and in evoking appropriate imagery for their other songs, but seems to fail at taking it all one step further into innovaton.
Innovation requires lyrics that do more than just reinvent the wheel. Innovation also asks that each song not repeat the same beat over and over again. Lead singer Beth Gibbons’s voice is distinctive enough to suit the songs well (even though she really does sound like a wailing cat in “Deep Water”), and the reedy fragility of her voice masks some of the more boring lyrics but doesn’t fully compensate. Portishead provides a beautifully uncut gem in Third, but it seems someone else will have to polish it up so we can look back on this and call it a landmark album.
“Magic Door,” “We Carry On,” “Machine Gun.”
myspace, last.fm
