Average User Rating: 60% (65 Reviews)
5 / 5	You Can Polish A Third..... Jones "biddwiser" (Manchester) - 13 April 2008 Portishead's Dummy was quite an achievement - rarely does a band come from nowhere with their debut and blow people's minds with a truly original sound. The second album, whilst perhaps sounding more 'live' on a few tracks, was essentially more of the same - which is no bad thing when your music is as unique as theirs. But there comes a time when a truly great band must prove their genius by going in a new direction, and somehow succeeding in retaining the vein of quality. Radiohead did it, Bjork did it, and now Portishead have done it - they just did it more emphatically.... Third is an album that took ten years to come. Barrow, Utley and Gibbons have done an admiral thing - they have spent many years cultivating the record, probably writing and rewriting, recording, binning and re-recording, to eventually have an album's worth of songs worthy to appear on a Portishead album. They have also, by the sounds of it, been listening to a LOT of different types of music along the way. Because no matter what people tell you, this is an EXTRAORDINARY record which, with the exception of two songs, sounds nothing like their first two albums. Of course, Gibbon's voice is unmistakable, and that in itself makes it Portishead. But the way she uses it is different - gone are the melodic choruses from songs like All Mine and Sour Times (believe me, they are melodic compared to THIS album) - instead Gibbons' voice is now used almost as an instrument, another sonic layer, the subtle beauty of which may only hit you after several listens. As well the vocals, the instrumentation on Third is very different from the previous albums. No scratches this time around, few breaks - instead, very harsh industrial drumming (Machine Gun)and doomy, proggy guitar riffs (Silence). There is even a moment, with stand-out track, The Rip, that you could dance along to in your bedroom, although you might want to paint your walls black first - because Third is one of the darkest albums you're likely to hear this year. No band that I can think of has created a follow-up album like this - every song is unique, they are all superb, and it is nothing like the earlier albums. Moreover, despite Barrow et al's obvious desire to do something new, Third still feels organic when you listen to it - it isn't the sound of pretention, it's the sound of perfection. ... Read Full Review »
5 / 5	Uneasy listening A. Bannister (London) - 29 April 2008 Portishead's eponymous second album sounded like they'd spent the years since their debut listening to their own music, and as such, was an often chilling and minimalistic exercise in distillation and refinement. By the same token, it also made any further venture in their distinctive style artistically redundant. As a result, Third is necessarily a different animal. The sound is at once broader and more claustrophobic. Gone is the scratching and heavy sampling, but still with us (thankfully) is the distinctive and imaginitive percussion work. Dark grooves are rendered uncomfortable listening with the addition of high sustained synth tones. Gibbons's vocals are as ever full of shame, doubt and regret at things she's done or not done, but occasionally a little more upbeat and direct. The album in general is uneasy listening, often beautiful, often noisy, often obtusely changing direction at mid-point or ending suddenly - "Silence", for example, cleverly clips out just as its proggish coda starts to get self-indulgent. There is even comedy here, too. Yet the ukulele-led (yes really) "Deep Water" is possibly the most disturbing song on the album - hearing Gibbons sing about not being afraid makes one wonder who she's trying to convince, and she comes across as tragically deluded. The song works as a palate-clearer too: the deliciously torturous drumming of "Machine Gun" is all the more punishing for following such whimsy, and its despondent Morricone-esque synth coda is a welcome surprise. "Threads" is a perfect ender, with that enormous, plaintive bass pulse radiating across the landscape like the cry of some wounded Lovecraftian leviathan. How tempting it would be to set up a lounge ensemble, a Rhodes piano, two turntables and a heap of percussion, stand Beth Gibbons up in front of them and have her wail torch songs until her heart bled. How brave it is, then, that Third is so unlike that concept that it isn't even the opposite of it, it's some kind of unfathomable fourth-dimensional tangent.... Read Full Review »
4 / 5	The Official Portishead 'Third' Review Mr. J. A. Thornton "Jonny Pop" (Nottingham/London) - 24 March 2008 Lets cut straight to what everybody who's shunned the illegal torrent file and is still waiting loyally for the authentic version has been thinking: Has Third been worth the 11 year wait? Portishead Third album art Well, yes, just about. Third is a great record that, like most of Portishead's back catalogue, takes a dozen listens to before you even begin to enjoy and understand how its beauty, complexity, subtleness and dense layers combine to create a truly mystifying whole. Don't expect a grand departure or startling re-evaluation that will cause your world to implode. Third is very much still a Portishead record like Dummy and their eponymous follow-up. Portishead have clung to the hallmark sounds that made them uniquely Portishead in the first place: Eerie atmospherics, claustrophobic turns, the haunting & tender vocals of Beth Gibbons, melancholic melodies and paranoid beats set to a cinematic soundscape. That's not to say that Third simply replicates its predecessors trip-hop sounds, Geoff Barrow recently called it the big brother to Dummy and Portishead and he's right. But as much as it borrows from its siblings, Third also veers off on interesting new tangents and directions. Traditional Hip-Hop samples and scratching are replaced by stark synths, dance-paced rhythms, piano and folky guitars. Silence and We Carry On initially stand out with their tribal beats, unsettling post-punk guitar figures and merry-go-round synth keys. The psychedelic organ on Small turns the track into a deranged Doors song whilst Deep Water really surprises (and kind of disappoints) with its moon-light basking ukulele and barbershop backing vocals. Standout tracks are The Rip, Plastic, Machine Gun and Magic Doors, which collectively manage to reinvigorate Portishead's sound. From the beautiful organic-to-synthetic build-up of The Rip, the aggressive and evil electronica of Machine Gun to the exquisitely chopped up drum fills on Plastic. Gibbons puts in a beautiful vocal performance on Magic Doors, the crushed piano chords adding to the artistry and power of her lyrics.Beth Gibbons These are the songs that earn Portishead a much needed authenticity that will see them through 2008 and beyond. But as good as they are, Third is far from perfect. There are several occasions (Hunter, Nylon Smile & Threads) where the tracks seem to amble on without the spectacular crescendos or emotive peaks Portishead are so fantastic at constructing. Call it experimental, sub-par, whatever, they simply aren't as good as the rest (well, not after less than 10 listens anyway!) and the album suffers as a result. All this aside, Third is another fine offering and welcome return from a group who has been sorely missed for over a decade. The NME may say, Portishead are Back! Back! Back! but somehow it seems as if they never went away at all. John Thornton ... Read Full Review »
5 / 5	More than worth the 10 year wait! Alexander Kitain "alex kitain" (hamburg, germany) - 8 March 2008 Wow, I never expected Portishead's return to be this strong! The new album is by far the best comeback I have heared in years. After almost 11 years of waiting time the moment of release has almost arrived. The album is fast paced, dark, with strong guitar riffs and Beth's fragile yet mesmerizing voice! The intro: Silence, is a bit weird at first and probably not the strongest track on the album but Nylon Smile, The Rip, We Carry On and Machine Gun are killers of tracks. Absolutely incredible! I still don't quite see why it took 11 years to produce and I am personally not a big fan of the title "Third" but the album is a convincingly strong comeback. It's strange to see that a style developed over a decade ago is still hot and can develop to a new height without ever being copied successfully. Am very excited to see how Portishead will play these tracks live during their upcoming tour! Definitely a big thumbs up for the most anticipated album of the year!... Read Full Review »
5 / 5	Album of the year so far! ngchol "ngchol" (UK) - 28 April 2008 After such a long time I wondered whether they would still be as essential as they were in the mid-90s, but after hearing the leaked album, seeing them at Hammersmith, and finally hearing the proper release when my box set arrived on Saturday.... my fears were entirely unfounded. For me, this is the absolute highlight of their career, and in time it may be more widely considered as their masterpiece. For those who haven't got time to preview to the whole album in advance, at least listen to "We Carry On", "The Rip", and "Machine Gun" as these have the most instant impact. They will undoubtedly lose many sales to people who like to use music as a soundtrack for discussing property prices, but they will gain many more to people who love challenging and rewarding music. They deserve all the acclaim which is coming their way.... Read Full Review »