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Media: Vinyl Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
Features:
Box set
Editorial Review:
Portishead's Third has been a long time coming, the result of a lengthy creative topor following 1997's dark, distinctly underrated album Portishead. Importantly, though, they've shaken it. While the core trio of Beth Gibbons, Geoff Barrow, and Adrian Utley remains, this is quite a different band to Portishead's 90s incarnation: gone is the slo-mo turntable scratching and smoky jazz feel, replaced by heavy, brooding rhythms, vintage-sounding electronics, and spindly guitar. Still present, though, is that sense of emotional fracture and deep gloom. "Silence" opens with a dense drum loop which suddenly falls away to reveal Gibbons' voice, cold but magnificent: "Wounded and afraid, inside my head/Falling through changes". "Nylon Smile", meanwhile, is a fine example of Third's occasional folksy edge, an acoustic song reminiscent of Leonard Cohen that, around its midpoint, lifts off on a propulsive electronic rhythm, Gibbons holding one clear, hard note as synthesisers bubble beneath. At times, it's a harsh and foreboding listen: the electronic drums of "Machine Gun" might put off the listener hoping for smooth dinner party fare. But Third is a brave and forward-thinking return, and one great enough to justify its lengthy gestation. --Louis Pattison
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 3.5 / 5.0
What a comeback Much of the time bands who have gone into hibernation return with albums which are mere shadows of their previous work. This album is the complete opposite and successfully captures the eerie tones which occupy many of their best songs. I simply cannot pick a favourite from an album which oozes style.
what a load of crock what a load of miserable garbled junk.... portishead should be embarassed of themselves... i am only giving it one star because amazon wont let me give it zero stars... utter durge..
Moshing for hip hoppers When I first heard Portishead's second album it sounded too much like a rusty tinman falling down a flight of even rustier iron stairs into an industrial meat grinder. So the album remained unlistened to for maybe a year, until I decided to give it a second chance and eventually fell in love with it. Third is very much a further progression in the same direction as before, but I have learned from my mistakes, and know that anything unusual and unexpected takes time to get used to. Initially I hated Machine... more info
Morose Encounters of the Third Kind This album is really on the pulse and that is the greatest compliment you can pay a band who haven't released any new material in over 10 years. 'We Carry On' is the surging adrenaline and panicking heartbeat at the centre of this very scary ride. It's the sound of our collective urban nightmare! 'The Rip' is an instant classic - just beautiful and yes, a bit sad. 'Machine Gun' and 'Plastic' wear obvious Aphex Twin and Burial influences but are still uniquely different to anything else out there. Comeback... more info
![Third [VINYL]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31wgWnRtrGL._SL160_.jpg)
