Third Reviews

• Third

  
  By A5F1A9MI4BLFA on 2008-04-29
  "We really wanted to sound like ourselves but not sound like ourselves. It was always going to be difficult." - Geoff Barrow, Pitchfork Media interview, Apr. 7, 2008.
  
  Geoff Barrow and the rest of Portishead had every reason in the world to feel this way. When Dummy debuted in 1994, it didn't sound like anything else and wasn't even expected to sell 50,000 copies. It's hard to believe in this day and age, but Dummy's dark, torchy pop punctuated with hip-hop beats and swimming in a sea of bass had never before been co-opted by anyone--not even Massive Attack, who had approached trip-hop from more of a dance perspective. It blew up, sparking a trip-hop genesis in alt-rock circles looking for a viable (and similarly angst-ridden) alternative to grunge, especially in the States. Now, of course, Dummy's sound is everywhere, from the umpteen upstart trip-hop bands that subsequently appeared to spy films, cocktail parties and massage therapy commercials. So we would be forgiven for not being bowled over by Dummy today, and Portishead would be forgiven for wanting to distance themselves from it.
  
  When last we heard from Portishead, it seemed as though they were packing it in for good, leaving us with a slightly less fresh self-titled album in 1997 and a live recording at Manhattan's Roseland Ballroom in 1998 before retreating into the shadows. Always something of an enigma and quite shy of the press, it was left to us to assume that Portishead was frustrated with how their crown jewel had been assimilated and watered-down, and that they were too daunted by the challenge that Barrow mentioned above to record a third album: How do you sound like yourself and not sound like yourself? All of which makes Third--a record that wasn't even supposed to exist--such a cryptically dazzling triumph. Third is no Dummy: It's much bleaker, makes precious few references to pop, and attains a level of creepiness that Dummy's strangest song, "Wandering Star," only suggested. Yet one listen to Third is all it takes to realize that nobody else is making music quite like this, and this is how Portishead still sound like themselves. In fact, hearing Third in 2008 may clue us into what it was like to hear Dummy in 1994.
  
  Counterintuitive as it may seem, the first thing to do when approaching Third is to forget about trip-hop and all the associations it carries. Barrow's drums stay far, far away from a hip-hop swagger; rather than providing a backbone, these diverse rhythms teeter on edge with the rest of the music and add another ominous layer to the mix. "Plastic" uses amped, clipped drum rolls that send the song screeching to a halt about a dozen times, and "We Carry On" is driven by a scary tom-led tribal stomp (Morcheeba this isn't). Barrow doesn't cop out by adding bassy undercurrents for cheap mystery; instead, he punches up the compression and keeps the sound trebly and brittle, giving the impression that everything is flying right at you even when the songs stand still. Third may be stubbornly unsexy, but that doesn't mean it's not alluring. Indeed, it wields an odd magnetic power that draws the listener ever further into its disorienting abyss, even when all of the elements jump bluntly out of the speakers.
  
  By the same token, Third's allure doesn't make it an easy listen, and it can be particularly heady when experienced in one straight pass. The sequencing feels all wrong, moving up and down and up again in the most unsettling of ways. After the distorted anti-song "Silence" kicks the record off, Portishead dips into the heavily narcotized haunted house of "Hunter," where Beth Gibbons' vocals drift sleepily and hypnotically through the arrangement. "We Carry On" is followed by the 90-second respite "Deep Water," which sounds like Gibbons fronting the Ink Spots over a ukulele melody, before being gunned down by the incessant staccato rapid-firing of "Machine Gun." Through it all, Gibbons sings like an innocent bystander; divorced from and frightened by the music around her, she becomes our stand-in for its unfamiliar territory. She contributes little to the record compositionally and melodically, but remove her and obliterate a sizable chunk of Third's emotional punch.
  
  The members of Portishead are noted experimentalists, but they don't just make cool sounds for fun. The backward-looped guitar on "Nylon Smile," the warped ascending scales on "Hunter," and the many other weird noises that crop up on Third contain an element of caution like aural barbed wire: As unpleasant as they may be, they're there to keep us from venturing somewhere truly dangerous. The creepy Portuguese television program that begins "Silence" seems appropriate, since listening to Third can feel as though we're tuning into a channel that we're not meant to know about or watch. I imagine that trip-hop in its nascent form--Massive Attack's Mezzanine, Tricky's Maxinquaye, and yes, Portishead's Dummy--was originally meant to invoke this sort of forbidden underworld, but that somewhere down the road the plot got lost, and its darkness and foreboding turned into something more manageable, fashionable and marketable. By rescuing trip-hop from a fate of Banana Republic soundtracks and putting their extremely personal stamp on a tired genre, Portishead have re-established themselves not simply as masters of their craft, but as reinventors of it.
  
  

• You will enjoy this album if you get over trip hop.

  
  By AXL41TWQ1CX2D on 2008-05-13
  I really love this new portishead. I am kind of glad that it took them more than 10 years to put out this album. If it were to come out any earlier, I would probably hated it simply because its not trip hop. You know that sound: hip hop beats, lush/cinematic string arrangement, turntable scratches, old film score samples. That was the sound that most people love but that sound have reached it peak in 1998. This is now, portishead have moved on and they offer something new that is really good. Its not a difficult album at all if you give it a listen. The album is melodic, beth still have a great voice and some songs I find a certain groove to them. The album is dark but its catchy. They are still an interesting band. Leave trip hop back in '98 and enjoy portishead now.
  
  

• NO "DUMMY"...

  
  By A1ZOJRCK06R28S on 2008-05-10
  ...I've waited a good solid week of listening to the new Portishead "Third" before diving into the review. That's to say, its been almost a non-stop solid listen for me...while I'm finding it be a rather difficult task to eject from the CD player...hasn't been since the release of Radiohead's "Kida" that I've found anything quite as artistically embracing and sensually orgasmic as "Third."
  
  Nah! "Third" is no "Dummy" nor it is a replication of the self-titled release...this is a band that is too intellect to do the same thing twice and too far removed from the media to give a toss, as admitted by Geoff Barrow in a recent SG interview. For those who were expecting a "dance" album--toss that one out!!!
  
  No, Portishead is not a dance-music making band! As "Dummy" might have helped to define "trip-hop"--it had its gleeful soulful moments, enriched with periodically sampling. Happy music?!? When has Portishead ever put out a bouncy Celion Dion whimsy of inspirational "white" fluff for the masses?
  
  But, it's not all about the gloom on "Third," as the seductive-pulp sounding ballad "Hunter" sedates the listener with the lines: "...and if should fall will you hold me? Will you pass me?"--a brilliant love song. Likewise, "Nylon Smile" carries on writing the same sweet-heart letter that cries: "I don't know what I've done to deserve you/and don't know what I'll do without you..." "The Rip" on the other hand is a rather vibrant colorful mellow humming, creating a visual sensation like staring into a kaleidescope and slowly turning the dial as the tempo gradually glides into a colorful rose-pedal of colors--perhaps the most "upbeat" blissful moment of the album.
  
  "Third" is by far the most studio-experimental release that Portishead has created YET. "Machine Gun" splices two electronic drums together, creating a fired-ammunition trigger-happy effect. "Plastic" is a hard-grinding mix, recalling the claustrophobic thump of "Elysium, with a choppier, looser feel with its quick surged-cuts. "Silence" is fast-drive raid of panic nightmare rage--the song is cut just before it fades (classic!).
  
  Removing themselves from the electronica dark-wave feel of the previous two studio albums, on "Third," the band introduces its first few acoustic guitar intros on "the Rip" and "Small," while "Deep Water" stands naked of any electronic effects with its barber-shop croon.
  
  Both "Small" and "Threads" are the climax gems of "Third." "Small" begins as an angelic melody layered with Beth Gibbon's ethereal ice-breaking vocals which suddenly morphs into a spiraling swerve of galactic swaying guitars and early Pink-Floyd-like thumping organs. "Threads" is the most haunting of any of delicate delights featured on this 49 minute-long orgasm with its droning hallow-sound guitar riff accompanied with the constant high-pitch "squeal" in the back ground, induced by the chill of hypno-voodoo beats--producing a entangling effect of euphoria. The song ends like a heavy moan of a Tibetan chant and slowly fades--what a brilliant place for the last song!
  
  No, "Third" is not a dance album, it's not another "Dummy," nor it is all "happy"--it's the avante-garde masterpiece of the 2000's. On "Third" Portishead is solid proof that the band is less about producing music and more about creating the art. Ten years was well worth the wait for this magnificent stereophonic high!
  
  

• Back (?) to black

  
  By A28PJ3MLQ5IEFK on 2008-05-02
  Short version: if you wanted "Dummy II" then just skip this release.
  
  Third moves Portishead in a more mechanical and industrial direction. The songs are distinctly more edgy, tight, and thoroughly claustrophobic with repetition. I see this as a good thing, your mileage may vary. Sure it may be more dissonant but it's a poppy, "In Rainbows" kind of dissonance. (As opposed to the more difficult "free jazz" dissonance. That stuff _really_ burns while going down.)
  
  Portishead have always made cinematic music and Third is no different. Songs like "Silence" and "Nylon Smile" would feel right at home in a David Lynch dream sequence; both take advantage of stylistic reptition to feature a nice anti-climax / pull-out that leaves the listener (insert your fetish here).
  
  Repitition seems to be the theme of Third. "The Rip", for example, opens with a banjo-fied riff that fuels the quiet desperation beneath Beth Gibbons' vocals. The same three notes are repeated throughout, building and building the song to.. the same three notes, echoed on a keyboard. The song is a brilliant study in dynamics and it's not until the last 45 seconds that a melodic counterpoint is established. The sensation is that of being able to finally scratch an itch after hours and hours of being tied to a butterfly swing. Ah, sweet relief!
  
  Some experiments do fall flat, however. "Deep Water" begins with a ukelele and you're practically falling over yourself to hear Stephin Merritt crooning. But instead you're treated to what sounds like Darth Vader on backing vocals. "Machine Gun", meanwhile, sounds like a NIN collaboration (I see this as a bad thing, your mileage may vary) that leads to one of those cheesy arena rock moment when you wave a lighter in the air.
  
  If Dummy was a great CD, then Third is merely good. Quite frankly, I'm mystified by the reviewers are dismissing Third as discomfiting and dark. Uh, wasn't that the whole point of Portishead? No, you're not going to listen to is at the beach. You're not going to listen to it on the way to work (unless you really hate your job). Heck, you may not listen to it more than three times a month. Nevertheless, I remain confident that there will be days when Third will perfectly fit my mood.
  
  
  

• dark, complete, and perfect.

  
  By A33WJNRVWC6KB8 on 2008-07-28
  You ever find those albums by artists you respect that prove to you they're geniuses at work? Those albums that, while you're listening, stop you from doing, or even thinking about, anything else? This is that album. It's haunting, arresting, at times beautiful, other times creepy, and ALWAYS courageously out there. This album has balls. You'd think, after 12 years, they'd just get back together and do something for the money, and I'm so pleased to share that this is not the case.
  
  To put it simply, if you liked Portishead back then, and you feel that your musical taste was somewhat effected by their previous work, you will love this evolution. 'Dummy' and 'Portishead' are timeless in their own right, and 'Third' just takes it leaps and bounds further.
  
  Jeez, I usually have SOMEthing bad to say about new music these days, but not here. This is why I felt the need to review this one, because if I could influence just one more person to buy it and experience it, then I've done my part as a big music nerd/junkie. :) ENJOY!
  
  
• Gorgeously Dark Album
  By A1J09R7DJUUY9F on 2008-05-10
  Upon first listening, I heard great music that I wasn't expecting, so I was a little disappointed. I loved the dark beats from the first two. While this one has a few songs that are reminiscent of the original works, this collection is vastly different, yet still remains sounding just like Portishead.
  
  Once I gave it the all important second spin, the spin without preconceived expectations of sound, I fell in love with this album. It is a stunning piece of work.
  
  To those of you who are complaining and saying that you can't see how anyone can listen to it more than once, I call you out and say that is your problem. You HAVE to listen to it more than once. This isn't active listening; rather, it is the CD you put on when reading a book, relaxing at the beach/pool, or just sitting on the couch staring at the ceiling with the candles lit all around you. So once you change your expectations, you should love this gem. If not, then that is just pure difference of taste.
  
  But this is just a great record!
  
  
• a modern psychedelic masterpiece
  By AQYNCLJJ3PGT5 on 2008-05-01
  if you are expecting more of the same as what they've done on their previous albums you might end up disappointed with this one. Third is definitely a different direction for Portishead, but i don't think that is a bad thing. though they might have alienated some of their long time fans with this release, i think they will actually gain some new ones in the process.
  
  i've been a fan of the band from the start, but ihonestly didn't have very high expectations for this album. coming back after 10 or so years to drop another masterpiece album just seemed so unlikely to me. but on first listen, Third was the absolute most refreshing album i have heard in years. i hear elements of Syd Barrett era Pink Floyd freak psyche, the Krautrock electronic groove of bands like Silver Apples, a little Industrial and a minimal amount of the usual Trip Hop flavor that we are used to hearing from Portishead.
  
  even if you've never expressed any interest in Portishead before, i encourage anyone who is into Psychedelic music to give this album a good listen.
  
  cheers!
  
  
• Third
  By A2TAPL67U2A5HM on 2009-09-05
  Third being Portishead 3rd studio album and their 2008 album was an album that I had been waiting to listen to for a long time and when I did I was very disappointed. Most of the tracks sound like demo versions or tracks that were discarded on earlier albums. The sound is muffled and the lyrics make no sense at all. The booklet is very sparse with no lyrics and no listing of whom played what. Many critics liked this album, however, I must admit that this was a major letdown. 2/5.
  
  
• Stick with it, kids..
  By A3MA61NPNHGY9Y on 2008-07-25
  Okay, I pre-ordered this one and was going to review it almost instantly... I'm so very glad I didn't. At first, with the (Portugese?) opening and off-center bass, you realize that there's no way this is going to sound like their previous stuff (in ways both good and potentially bad), but go with it - the more attention you give it, the more you can hear. The way certain songs don't seem to flow into the next one seems to be offset by the way other songs do - almost like a suite of sorts later in the album that seems almost perfectly suited for (no idea if I can say this on Amazon or not, but I'm copying this and re-pasting it just in case I get censored) as music for taking "medicine" to.
  
  Paying attention to the sounds pays off - I swear to (insert deity of choice here) that the first round of percussion on "Machine Gun" sounds in a way softer than the rest of it, on "Small", half of the keyboard (if that's what it is) strokes sound deliberately fudged, "The Rip" is, hands down, one of the most, if not the most beautiful song that they've ever done (I'd press "repeat" 2 or 3 times each time I played the CD when I first got it, and seems, as well, almost tailor-made for a KCRW late morning playlist) and, going back to "Machine Gun", the sounds at the end are bugging me because I can't figure out what obscure late 70's/early 80's movie they remind me of... but in a good way - like there was this movie that I wrote off because I couldn't quite grasp all of the themes at the time I saw it.
  
  I guess that's probably the best analogy for the album in general as well - don't dismiss it and it will grow on you like most albums you end up never wanting to live without.
  
  But then, since both of my boom-generation parents like Portishead, it might be genetic as well.
  
  
• Great Album!
  By A39QSGPO8YRHIN on 2008-07-25
  only one thing to say remember to play this album as a 45 not a 33 sounds silly but thats how they set it up...
  
  
• A nice and refreshing listen.
  By A3SI83LHXQCVS2 on 2008-07-21
  2008 could not have possibly been a better time for me to hear a new Portishead album. My fandom is probably bigger than it's ever been before and the fact that it does not repeat the classic formula via crowd pleasing makes it all the more engaging a listen. And the album doesn't even sound that un-Portishead in the first place. It's possibly not the strongest album they've released yet but there's plenty of quality material to be found here.
  
  And it's not like the songs themselves sound individually the same either. You get "We Carry On," possibly their most dancefloor ready song ever. And then it follows right up with the lo-fi field recording sound of "Deep Water" and the fantastic drum-machine centered "Machine Gun," which fits the violent theme of the lyrics just perfectly. It's one of their greatest songs and total brilliance. Also, some of these songs end where they seem like they wouldn't or shouldn't. You expect Gibbons to sing more on "Nylon Smile" or the music to continue on "Silence" at first instead of their abrupt endings.
  
  This record is something truly creative and worth investing in if you have any taste for the group. I mean, 11 years really has paid off here! Sure I'd like those traditional trip-hop songs but I think in the end that "Third" is more rewarding than that ever could have been.
  
  
• Give it a Listen & Make Up Your Own Mind
  By A1B613HSFC5WQX on 2008-07-15
  No this isn't a repeat of their first album, but it more than stands on its own, and imparts a beauty of sound that's rarely heard. I'm not trying to set a standard so I'll stop here.
  
  
• Where is Beth?
  By A3ITNFR8RYR3MP on 2008-10-29
  I don't know if it's just me, but I feel the experimental sounds take over Beth's voice and to me she MAKES Portishead. Her scary, low voice is so beautiful, why are they trying to mask it? Plus, I think that they strayed from their morbid, spooky music to a more eclectic sound and I guess it's just not for me, but hey it's not a bad Cd. It's good to have in your collection, but I highly recommend their other albums if you don't own them already.
  
  
• Let Down
  By A8THFWFBV6FGQ on 2008-07-11
  I really love Portishead, and like many fans, I eagerly awaited this album. I find that it is incredibly different from their past albums. Sometimes this takes some adjustment, and giving them a second and third try might prove them to be better.
  However, I fear that in this album, Portishead was trying to be so different that the music does not seem as thoroughly composed as its predecessor albums.
  In fact, at times, it sounds downright incohesive.
  I never thought I would see the day when I said to myself, "gotta go turn the Portishead off, it's annoying the hell out of me."
  
  
  
• Portishead's back, and not at it again
  By A8QCB68UL50NX on 2008-05-09
  In the 90s, it was easy to know who Portishead was. They were the ubiquitous trip-hop group, combining molasses-slow beats and turntable scratches with atmospheric accents, tied together by the siren singing of Beth Gibbons. Ten years later, the group has an entirely new modus operandi, but it's not exactly the one that's expected. On Third, the combination of growling guitars, damaged and detuned analog synths, clipped loops warring with overdriven drum machines and embarrassingly confessional lyrics that could have been ripped from a middle schooler's diary combine to make Portishead's analog to... an NIN album?
  
  Nine Inch Nails is actually something of a guilty pleasure of mine, so I don't really mind this new direction. And, of course, if Third's closer "Threads" bears any resemblance to the infamous "Hurt", it's that song being sung by a chanteuse in a smoke-filled nightclub with a nuclear war being waged just outside. Third would easily rank on par with NIN's finest, especially as it takes many risks that would probably be beyond the old industrial crowd.
  
  Most important among these is the jolting sequencing, which constantly aims to prevent the listener from getting into any sort of expected groove. Opener "Silence" starts with a wicked drum loop which fills most of the song, but it only finds its signature riff by the ending - a simultaneously mournful and beautiful guitar line roaming amidst the chaos - only to cut out abruptly in mid-phrase and segue into the underwater jazz of "Hunter", which similarly fades out just as it finds its rhythm and gets truly gratifying. Then, of course, there's the jarring transition between the heavily industrial "We Carry On" and 30s doo-wop soundbite "Deep Water", which somehow manages to work perfectly despite being totally improbable.
  
  There aren't many weak tracks on the album either, although I can see why a few ("Machine Gun" especially) might be grating enough to be skippable. But Third works as an album - it's clearly one of those unified works that is becoming increasingly rare in the age of the mp3. And no matter how different their sound, this is still unquestionably Portishead - the cinematic sound is still there. You just have to look harder for it.
  
  
• Better then I ever expected
  By A2C7M79A9NKF5E on 2008-05-05
  This album is great in every way. It sounds current, yet familiar as Portishead. Simultaneously they don't rely on repeating what they've done in the past, instead exploring new audio boundaries for great effect. For all the detractors, just don't buy the album, keep listening to the same tired albums you have been for 10-15 years. For all the intelligent music fans, heres a true gem to discover.
  
  
• three for 3.......
  By A237UQWA01EGVD on 2008-04-29
  been a long time, i didnt even know if they were still together, but they are, by far the best two song on this long awaited cd are WE CARRY ON and MACHINE GUN, some of the other songs, well, kinda dull the cd need some more of what these two tracks have. But, i feel i have heard this kinda sound before.....YES, if you like this kinda sound then check out the first two cd by the group flying lizzards the lizzards where way before there time, I am not saying this is not good, it has to grow on you. I just think if they would have done a few more songs like the two best track, it would have been a 4 for 3. god knows they have had enough time to make this cd great. It seems like they were too afraid to make it too pop. Like i said before, if you like this, take the time to check out the first cd release by the flying lizzards, yes its got the cover song MONEY. But after all these years for them, it still holds up. hope 3 can do the same as time goes on.
  
  
• You're right, it's not trip-hop, it's just excellent music
  By A358VGY6VQFVA4 on 2009-11-23
  Portishead would like to apologize to their fans for not producing "Dummy 2" or "Portishead 3". Upon reading the 1-star reviews of the angry fans, they have realized their mistake and went back to the studio to record a new album with the same stuff they were doing 10 years ago... Wait, what?! Are you kidding me? If you want something that sounds like their previous albums there is a very simple solution: listen to the previous albums! Musicians evolve and try to create music that they feel is meaningful. Sometimes experimentation works, other times it does not. But for Portishead it has sure done wonders.
  
  I love their first two albums just as much as anyone else. That does not mean though that I have a "Dummy" ruler with which I check if the new album fits the standards. It doesn't, and that's wonderful. The trip-hop is still there, the melancholy is plenty, but the band has also added new stuff to the mix: some alternative atmosphere (no wonder Radiohead did a cover of "The Rip"), some psychedelic undertones (the second half of "Small", reminiscent of early Pink Floyd), some powerful electronic beats (the mighty "Machine Gun", or the menacing "We Carry On"). They're changing dynamics inside the songs and on the album as a whole (just think of the odd pairing of the soothing "Deep Water" and the disturbing "Machine Gun") while at the same time providing a wonderful counterbalance with Beth's eerie voice.
  
  There is a very smooth transition from the first to the last tracks. The first half of the album is a powerful reminder of why we love Portishead in the first place. The second half is a sign of things to come, and why some of us will still love Portishead even if they might sound nothing like in the beginning. Give it some time, come back to it later. It might just not be your album, but there's also a chance that it will start growing on you and then the reward will be tremendous. One morning you'll wake up hooked to the beat of Machine Gun and that will pretty much be it.
  
  
• Genius re-birthed
  By AC3R5QHIIGO15 on 2009-02-01
  I honestly got tired and annoyed of waiting for this album. Portishead being one of my muses I was getting ready to write them off. The first track I heard off this album was Machine Gun - I didn't like, I felt frustrated by it. Then I woke up one day and listened to it again and it finally sunk in. I pre-ordered the vinyl. When it showed up I put it on and just finally enjoyed the return of a set of true modern composers.
  
  What makes Portishead such genius is that they are truly composers. They don't just follow the tradition of a four part band. They truly experiment with vocal and instrumentation to form a true composition. Just like classic composers they just use what they are interested in at the time. The scratching and the theremin of the second album are gone, because that's done. It's time to move on.
  
  Instead the have a beautiful use of what I can only describe as analogue, digital. Rather than just using loops Geoff applies programed samples to his set and plays them in real time. This combination of human driven sampling is really what gives portishead their edge. Its also why they are so unbelievable live, they don't try to recreate computerized samples live because that's not how they were produced in the studio.
  
  Drop the needle, kill the lights, lie back and enjoy the best trip hop you can get.
  
  
• Powerful vocals, meager instrumentation.
  By A4VH04TA14CPE on 2008-12-26
  Popular music thrives on melodrama, especially when it's expressed by a vocalist like Beth Gibbons. The stylized, hyper-magnified fragility of her performances is the biggest strength of Portishead's Third. In "Nylon Smile," she pleads, "I don't know what I've done to deserve you, and I don't know what I'll do without you," and her voice veritably quivers with hurt, you can easily imagine her as a poor wounded bird, plaintively lamenting her cruel fate. In many songs, she dwells with similar helplessness and sensitivity on feelings like, "hoping I might change a little, hoping that I might be someone I want to be," "tormented inside life, wounded and afraid," and "I'm just emotionally undone, I can't deny I can't be someone else."
  
  That's the predominant tone of Third, but Gibbons also does a magnificently calm, distanced tone in "Machine Gun," and becomes a bit warmer in "Deep Water" and "The Rip." Eventually, the melodrama feels more like the style of an old silent film, or a story by Stefan Zweig, than like typical nineties-style angst. Gibbons' vocal style has always recalled old torch songs, and she has lost none of her touch in the eleven years that passed since the last Portishead album. If anything, she's spookier, more mysterious now.
  
  However, the music on Third is obsessively, insistently rudimentary, even for a minimalist decade like the 2000s. It's not "repetitive" in the sense that, say, Ladytron are repetitive. Third is full of surprises and changes: the abrupt ending of "Silence," a fast keyboard line suddenly interrupting the slow pace of "Hunter," a loud crescendo in "Small," glitchy effects in "Plastic." But these surprises have no musical content whatsoever. The keyboard line in "Hunter" plays a very simple scale, up and down; the crescendo in "Small" is a one-note keyboard line. Many songs prominently feature a shrill drone -- not a "droning keyboard line," as one might write about a post-punk album, but a plain, unadorned beeping sound, either continuous or repeated. "Silence" begins with one (around 0:30). So does "Magic Doors." So does "We Carry On." These are not small, insignificant details; they actually form the musical core of the album. Things get a little more exciting with the rare appearance of a distorted electric guitar, at the end of "Silence" and "Small," but there, too, it plays basic chords, covered in reverb.
  
  The issue is laid out starkly in "Machine Gun." The drum track is lifted from New Order's "Blue Monday." Okay, fine: steal from the best, everything old is new again, and so on. But New Order's song had about a dozen different unforgettable hooks apart from the drum track. "Machine Gun" not only has no other hooks, it has no other music, except for a short keyboard line (heavily reminiscent of nineties MOD music) in the end. But for most of its duration, Gibbons sings over just this drum track. To add variation, they produce the drum track in two ways -- a cold "industrial" sound and a louder, clanging pot-beating sound. They alternate. The end. If not for the striking, cold clarity of Gibbons' voice, there would be nothing to discuss.
  
  Not that it's all bad, but the good parts generally occur when the music doesn't try to call attention to itself, and retreats into the background ("Hunter," "Threads," "Deep Water"). Occasionally it is used to sort of gently guide the tone of Gibbons' vocal performance. The best such moment is on "The Rip," perhaps the best song on the album, where a slight increase in tempo leads to a warm, dreamy climax. When the music is at the forefront, however, it can be quite frustrating to listen to.
  
  This style can be traced back to Radiohead's Kid A, particularly "The National Anthem," which also simulated musical techniques using essentially non-musical stand-in sounds. Occasionally there are hints of Bjork's Homogenic (the drum track in "Plastic" would have felt at home there), except without the pop moments. Overall, though, the sound of Third is closer to Volta, another musical simulacrum, featuring a wide array of instruments (diligently noted by reviewers) that failed to play anything of any interest at all.
  
  The minimalism of Third is anticlimactic. Exactly like Kid A, the careful pace and the jarring sound suggest an album that requires careful attention and repeated listening, but in the end, the music reveals much less than it promises. It remains to listen to Third for Gibbons' often-amazing vocals, and treat the music as an occasionally pleasant backdrop.
  
  
• Great for the fans
  By A229S0EIN3W4NA on 2008-08-25
  It's a short album, but it's okay. This is a compact album with a lot of familiar tones that are expected from Portishead, but they do branch off with new ideas and unchartered waters. For those who have not yet heard Portishead, then I strongly suggest holding off from this album until you hear their first two.
  
  
• Converting the Unconverted
  By A32W89Z5N03UXB on 2008-07-23
  This is a genuinely avant-garde album, with all kinds of unexpected twists and turns. It is not tuneful the way of trip hop--this album is more "out there."
  
  I didn't like their earlier records all that much, they didn't seem to do "tuneful" trip hop as well as, say, Morcheeba, and the odd touches they threw in struck me as relatively tame.
  
  Very little about this records is tame. I wouldn't recommend this one for everyone, but if your musical tastes are edgy, this is definitely worth checking out.
  
  
• Striking
  By ALL087C49769B on 2008-07-20
  Eleven years is a long time between releases. It's been awhile since their albums were in heavy rotation on my playlist, but this sounds just as good if not better than anything they've out out. I can't understand people waiting eleven years and then being disappointed that the new album is not exactly like the last one. Things change, I guess a lot of people don't, or are in denial. Anyway, you would recognize this as a Portishead album immediately on hearing, and it's new, different, and good.
  
  
• 60 psychedelic meets modern electronics....
  By A2JED3BDSJNR5I on 2008-07-17
  While this release is highly anticipated anyone expecting to get a rehash of the 1990's trip-hop Portishead may be let down upon first listen. Gone are those jazzy drums and record scratches, instead it's replaced with a buzzing rhythm of analogue synthesizers. Another problem is that when a band got a big in the 1990's and defined a sound as they did then it's hard to expect them to blow you away upon first listen.
  
  The real gem of this release is that Third grows on you, it's a deep record with the trademark Portishead mood, although this time there are some real 60's psychedelic feelings on it. Also vocally Beth Gibbons is as tortured as ever it comes out in the lyrics. This is a great moody record for a rainy day and if you want to listen to Dummy then put that record on, but if you want to hear what a brilliant band has to say in 2008 then you will love this album. It's one of my favorites that gets regular play on my CD player....
  
  
• Better than I Ever Could have Expected
  By A22A2ZPRKL4UGZ on 2008-06-01
  Portishead do not let any fans down with this album. Beth Gibbons and members pick up musically right where they left off. It has the same interesting, strange transcendent quality that musicians(good musicians) end up maturing to after years of playing together. This CD was well worth the wait and possibly one of Portishead's best albums. Their songs master the hazy keyboard smoky melodic sounds, the sound that fans love them for doing.
  
  The album opens with "Silence", which is the perfect song to begin because the band has been "silent" over the years by not releasing anything or touring. Kind of ironic. Also along with the sound of dark pianos, you hear Gibbons' mysterious melodic vocals. "Nylon Smile" is a great song because of it's creepy buildup, tribal percussion and seductive imagery. "Machine Gun" is the typical Portishead sound that made you fall in love with them. Then you have "Hunter", which is heightened by computer sounds and has a sense of misery to it. The album finishes with "Threads", which has the same great musicianship and captivating vocals. Portishead's Third is a great successor to their amazing debut of Dummy many years ago.
  
  
• Crazy album!
  By A3AEN6JWPGUWFM on 2008-05-11
  First time, I couldn't listen to the CD and gave up.
  
  Second time, after 6 hours of receiving this CD (About 7 pm), I turned this on again.
  
  It is crazy. I am totally addicted by their new style.
  
  It's not like their other two albums.
  
  It's way more bizarrrre, Blue, creepy and keeps reminded me of drugs, alchol, And most of all the end of the world-all kinds of mentally disoriented tules to make us close our eyes and makes our heartbeat.
  
  Just what I needed.
  
  Although I never had drugs, I can feel what that world is like.
  
  Portishead made this album in their own way. No matter what others say.
  They did their own way..
  
  No regret.
  
  Recommend->Silence, Hunter, Plastic, We carry on...Machine Gun...
  
  
  
  
• The Best Portishead Album.....EVER!
  By A1C1IAMZI0WRY3 on 2008-05-07
  Again, just mistified by the negative reviews. People just love to pidgeon hole artists to make the same sounds over and over. Real musicians change, experiment, and challenge listeners.
  
  If you want to hear the same thing over and over, get the next Kitaro record.
  
  I almost didn't get this great album because someone was "disappointed" in it. What a mistake that would have been. This is the best Portisehead album, ever. Challenging, moving in different directions, yet still sounding like Portishead.
  
  Best Songs:
  Nylon Smile
  We Carry On
  Machine Gun
  Threads
  
  Lay off these bands that are pushing music forward and keep listening to "Journey" for your sameness fix.
  
  
• this is why we wait....
  By AOAUPR5T35O4U on 2008-05-06
  I was very concerned when i learned portishead was making a new album... the thoughts kept racing through my head- "will it sound like portishead?" "i hate to think they will rehash their previous success."
  "how do you progress from something so unique?" well....i have my answers. if this is what i have to look forward to every ten years in their ouvre, i will sit patiently by and wait. this album is amazing. phenomenal. when i buy cds, i always worry that there will be a string of weak tracks that i feel i've wasted my money on. but i buy the cds because they're from artists that i love and i must continue to collect just to have the entire collection of an artist. there is not one work track on this one. and thank you portishead for keeping it fresh and interesting.
  
  
• First couple of plays are deceiving
  By A15HE7D6DVEFZX on 2008-05-03
  Funny how it takes more than several plays to appreciate new music sometimes. I wasn't thrilled with Third the first couple of plays, but now I think it's completely brilliant! So much so that I've been playing it repeatedly all week long. If you're expecting a continuation of what they did on the first two albums, you'll likely be disappointed. Third is really not triphop as it is a new and successful direction for the band. It's much more experimental and minimalist with droning textures over more of an industrial beat, but there are also some very etherial ballads that make for an interesting contrast. It's good to hear that Portishead didn't take the easy way and rehash what was done 10 years ago, they reinvented themselves with excellent results.
  
  
• Better than I Ever Could have Expected
  By A22A2ZPRKL4UGZ on 2008-06-01
  Portishead do not let any fans down with this album. Beth Gibbons and members pick up musically right where they left off. It has the same interesting, strange transcendent quality that musicians(good musicians) end up maturing to after years of playing together. This CD was well worth the wait and possibly one of Portishead's best albums. Their songs master the hazy keyboard smoky melodic sounds, the sound that fans love them for doing.
  
  The album opens with "Silence", which is the perfect song to begin because the band has been "silent" over the years by not releasing anything or touring. Kind of ironic. Also along with the sound of dark pianos, you hear Gibbons' mysterious melodic vocals. "Nylon Smile" is a great song because of it's creepy buildup, tribal percussion and seductive imagery. "Machine Gun" is the typical Portishead sound that made you fall in love with them. Then you have "Hunter", which is heightened by computer sounds and has a sense of misery to it. The album finishes with "Threads", which has the same great musicianship and captivating vocals. Portishead's Third is a great successor to their amazing debut of Dummy many years ago.
  
  

• Portishead
• Dummy
• Blue Lines
• Mezzanine
• Live: Roseland NYC