Spectral, ghostly, and haunting in every way imaginable, masterful Bristol, England trip-hop act Portishead's magnificent third album, 2008's aptly-titled Third, finds the famed trio just as mysterious, oddly catchy, and mesmerizing as ever (if not more so), as they expertly craft an LP well worth the exceedingly long eleven-year wait.
Trip-Hop Masters Portishead Return
A span of time which, while seeing little in the way of band activity, surprisingly finds Portishead (made up of the singularly hypnotic Beth Gibbons on lead vocals and immensely talented multi-instrumentalists Geoff Barrow and Adrian Utley) picking up right where 1997's criminally under-appreciated, gothic, highly acidic, '50s sci-fi reminiscent and film-noir sounding self-titled LP left off.
Which isn't to imply that Third resides in the same grainy, ghostly, black and white and day-for-night landscape of harrowing emotionality that Portishead did. Far, far from it. If Portishead was an expression of obsession, near-madness, and emotional devastation, then Third is a weary-yet-persistent attempt to pick up the pieces and move forward.
The album's eleven tracks and fifty-minute running time find Gibbons (even more powerfully emotive than on the tragic and cathartic Portishead) in full-on introverted, hushed, and intensely meditative mode. Particularly as she questions others' and her own motivations on the galloping and simmering opener "Silence", which features such lines as "Did you know what I lost? Did you know what I wanted?"
Third's Haunting Atmosphere And Unpredictable Rock/Electronica Sound
Where the LP carries on from it's predecessor(s) is in it's almost-overwhelming and disturbing-yet-entrancing atmosphere. Indeed, just as the act's absolute classic 1994 debut Dummy and it's aforementioned follow-up Portishead were born of an eerie and at once murky, gloomy, and hazy aesthetic, so is Third born of the same sound.
The big difference this time out being that the trio has rendered it in the most minimalist and organic light (or dark) yet, where all the electronica flourishes are refined and precisely re-tuned to the point where they come off as completely natural-sounding. Something which goes so far as to at times leave the listener guessing what instruments are actually being used.
A reasonable line of questioning which only gets deepened as the album proceeds unpredictably through hazy and soulful haunters like "Hunter" into gently plucked ballads like "The Rip" and "Deep Water" onto propulsive fare like "Machine Gun" even into Doors-sounding brooders like "Small" and the escalating closer "Threads", all of which add up to the act's most diverse body of work yet.
In Closing
Definitely not ideal for easy listening or background music, Third is an album that needs to be listened to with utmost attention in order to be appreciated to the fullest. Needless to say that those patient listeners willing to put in the effort will (as has always been the case with Portishead) be rewarded with an immensely moving experience.
Jacob Goguen - Jacob Goguen is a professional journalist with an extensive background in the arts. He has acted in short films, as well as with Young ...
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