Third

In the mid-1990s, Bristol collective Portishead released two definitive albums - Dummy and its follow-up Portishead - then promptly went into hibernation, running scared of the era-defining trip-hop sound they had helped to shape.
For anyone that cares, Portishead are still made up of Geoff Barrow, Beth Gibbons and Adrian Utley, just as they were back in 1994 when "Dummy" hit the streets.
It has taken them 11 years to produce another album, entitled "Third", which has moved on from previous offerings - the smoky trip hop sound that was the backdrop to many a chilled late night is gone - replaced by an altogether heavier, starker, darker flavour.
Singer Beth Gibbons' distinctive, vulnerable bluesy, sometimes unsettling but beautiful vocals remain etched across the album's songs from hammering drums, tribal beats, and weird, sometimes crazy samples.
The vulnerability and strength of the lady's voice really cements the record. It means that it still sound exactly like you remember Portishead sounding like, even though the musical backing is decidedly modern and much more sinister than anything the band tried in the happy-do-lucky days of the mid-90s.
The openers "Silence" and "Hunter" sound like the stuff of some Edwardian ghost story, contrasting with the pseudo French chanteuse affectation of "The Rip", finding Beth Gibbons wafting an edgy ethereal vocal over plucked acoustic guitars. It could only be Portishead. Beth Gibbons ponders whether white horses will ever whisk her away, while a beautiful bass melody works up to a soft gallop in the background.
Stand out tracks include the distinctive "Magic Doors" with piano chords, to the powerful hammering beats of the single "Machine Gun". Other highlights include "The Rip" which begins as a folksy and delicate number before a crazy electro finish, while "Hunter" starts with a plaintive beauty and flashes of an earlier Portishead sound before it rises to bleaker distortion.
"We Carry On" is the key track on this excellent album, with a timpani beat driving a stirringly percussive track detonated with New Order guitars: the insistent beats prove the point perfectly. Strip Gibbons' rich vocals away from the track and you'd find a song that is as up to date as it's possible to be without it hurting.
"Third" has a real claustrophobic, eerie feel to it, which is quite addictive
If you're looking for uplifting sunny tunes then you've stumbled upon the wrong band and album.
But, if challenging, inventive music is your thing - then "Third" is definitely for you.
My favourite tracks: "We Carry On" and "Machine Gun"
Check out the gorgeous Beth Giboons' "Out Of Season".

After more then ten years since their last release, Portishead returned to the spot light with their third album properly titled Third. But Portishead returned with a totally different sound, while retaining the overall dark atmoshere they would be known for from their 90's efforts. The use of samples is much more agressive on this album, most notably on the song "Machine Gun" which has Beth Gibbons screaming vocal harmonies over crashing machinery. "The Rip" is a beautifull acoustic balled that turns into a euphoric landscape of synth. Beth Gibbons vocal delivery throughout this album is truely chilling, and you won't hear her doing any of that weird Sean Connery stuff like on the last Portishead album. The song "Magic Door" shows off a unique percussion hook, and the song "Threads" is a sneaky peice that builds into a loud and vigorous roit where Beth is screaming over crashing percussion and roaring synths. I'd say that this is the best that Portishead has ever sounded, and further that this is one of the best albums of 2008.

Long vanished from the music scene, Portishead have finally reemerged with a new album. Hallelujah for that.

But this isn't quite the same Portishead as before -- the music here is more raw, minimalistic and dark, with a ragged murky edge that replaces some of the trippiness. While its flavour is quite different from Portishead's earlier work (and this album is best heard with as few comparisons as possible) the beautifully bittersweet "Third" is a haunting experience on its own.

First, a man recites the Wiccan rule of three... in Portuguese. Not sure what that has to do with anything, really.

It's followed up by "Silence," a darkly vibrant mass of violins, urgent drumming and dark ripples of synth. But then it slows suddenly, and Beth Gibbons sings in a soft, fragile voice, "Tempted in our minds/Tormented inside lie/Wounded and afraid/Inside my head..." She adds in a wispy, plaintive voice, "Did you know when you lost?/Did you know when I wanted/Did you know when I lost...?"

By this point, you should have a pretty good idea what you'll think of "Third." Whether you love it or you hate it, you'll know.

The dark, fragile sound of that first song carries over into the fairylike "Hunter" with its growling guitars, and the songs that follow -- tense elusive pop laments, organ ballads riddled with weird flapping and echoing synth noises, satiny rattly piano-synth melodies, and even a light little acoustic song that sounds mildly out of place, but makes a nice little lightweight oasis in all the dark stuff. The album rounds out with "Threads'" bleak web of windy synth, crashing drums and eerie guitar.

The song that really doesn't fit in here is ironically the first single, the rather repetitive, jarring drum-a-thon that is "Machine Gun." Sorry, but even Beth's haunting vocals cannot make this spiky song work.

I'm not surprised that people thought that Portishead had broken up -- after all, it's been eleven years since their self-titled album came out. And in that time, many a musical trend has come and gone (including electronic ones) and most trip-hop bands have settled into other sounds -- usually acoustic or dancepop. Well, Portishead doesn't do anything so predictable -- in fact, the result is utterly UNpredictable.

That trademark noir sound is gone. Completely gone. Instead we have a bleak, post-apocalyptic-dream sound, full of darker, tattered instrumentation, strange sounds and dark stretches of blipping/sweeping synth running just underneath. And yet if you listen to it without the comparisons of their previous albums, it turns out to be very compelling.

There are some lighter moments, like the acoustic ballad "Deep Water," but these softer interludes are overshadowed: we've got generous servings of growling grimy guitars and softer cycling ones, drum machines, sweeps of delicate piano and strings, and solemn soaring organ. But sadly, no horns. Seriously, where are the horns?

Beth Gibbons' voice sounds incredibly pretty and fragile, like a piece of silk just about to tear. Pretty perfectly suited to songs tinged with sorrow ("Somehow turn me around/No matter how far I drift/Deep waters won't scare me tonight"), even in their more positive moments ("Wild, white horses/They will take me away/And the tenderness I feel/Will send the dark underneath").

Those expecting another "Dummy" are going to be deeply disappointed in "Third." But take it for itself, and its bleak, eerie beauty will start to show.