Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 16-20 of 166
 Back (?) to black May 2, 2008
Invisigoth (Minneapolis)
10 out of 13 found this review helpful
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.
 Good bye trip-hop. We hardly knew ye May 25, 2008
R. MCRACKAN (Raleigh, NC)
10 out of 19 found this review helpful
After waiting 10 years for a follow up to the greatest trip-hop music ever made, I was more than a little disappointed at what this is. This abrasive experiment lacks all of the elements I love from the first 2 albums. Namely: it's largely without a driving beat, it has none of the retro film noir aesthetics, and there's no song with a catchy hook.
Analysis aside, the worst thing I can say about Third is that I have to really TRY to like it. This happens all the time with good bands. They make great music then in later albums (and often their 2nd album) you try to force yourself to like it. And you know full well that if that were your introduction to the band, you wouldn't have liked them in the first place.
I don't have to try to like the other 2 albums. From 1st listen I was entirely hooked. With Third, if I really, really try then I can find some tracks that are not fully without merit.
 Its been a long decade April 29, 2008
Kenneth Harden (Reno, NV)
9 out of 18 found this review helpful
Lets be honest, this album isn't going to change the world. I became a Portishead fan just as their second album was released, so it's so nice for them to be back...but after a decade, many would be happy with ANYTHING, no matter how bad.
Fortunately, this is a pretty decent album. Hunter, Nylon Smile, The Rip, Small, and especially Threads (I consider it the best on the album) are all good tracks. The others don't stand out as much, my finger itches to the > button when they come on. Deep Water is garbage (sorry).
If you are a Portishead fan, or even like them a little, you should buy this. If you are not yet a Portishead fan, buy the first two albums (Dummy and Portishead) and THEN purchase this if you like those two (just as you should watch Episode 4, 5, and 6 BEFORE the others).
Glad they are back, and let's hope that we don't need to wait another 10 years to hear them again!
4.5 Stars: A Near Masterpiece April 30, 2008
billy
9 out of 16 found this review helpful
I'm always impressed when a band lies dormant for an extended period of time and is able; somehow, to recapture their creative magic long after their alleged artistic peak has past. Portishead hasn't released a proper album in 11 years, and somehow they were able to release something as good, as haunting, and as evocative as Third over a decade later.
Where bands like Mission of Burma and Dinosaur Jr. basically picked up where they left off when they disbanded, Portishead does anything but. Portishead is so synonymous with the term trip hop and all it's trappings that simply making another album similar to Dummy would have gotten them labeled as a retread or worst, outdated. Third is a much more stark and claustrophobic album than Dummy or their self titled follow-up. Gone are any scratches, oversized drum beats, or any other remnants of hip hop influence in their sound. It sounds a lot more rough and lo-fi, focusing on texture and tension, instead of the relatively warm and inviting sound of their first two albums. Guitars are much more prominent and Beth Gibbon's voice sounds half buried most of the time. Where Dummy and their second album were made for relaxing late at night, listening to Third is about as comfortable as walking in a hailstorm.
The opener Silence starts off with a voice speaking in Portuguese, and for some reason it set me on edge. The rest of Silence builds tension with a throbbing drum beat and swelling strings. The song keeps building and building and them it abruptly cuts off, leaving you wanting some kind of resolution that never comes. The whole album seems built on this jerky sequencing that bounces you between different tempos and moods, but always keeps you guessing and uncomfortable. The best example is the trio of songs in the middle of the album, We Carry On, Deep Water, and Machine Gun. We Carry On has this driving and taunt low end beat that keeps on moving and stuttering, punctuated by an occasional guitar line and sheets of noise. The next song Deep Water is a brief interlude featuring only Gibbons voice, occasional barbershop style backup singing and a ukulele. You're sort of lulled to sleep before the dueling drum machines on Machine Gun wakes you up. It's a masterful job of sequencing because you're only allowed to breath for a minute before being jerked back to life. Other songs like The Rip and Small start out with Gibbons' unaccompanied by a beat before the song kicks in to gear, again jarring my senses. It's similar in motivation, but not neccesarily technique to the GZA's Liquid Swords. Both albums are so tense that it's hard to breath, and both have this shifting dynamic that makes it's uncomfortable to listen to.
The only drawback, and it's a minor one, are Gibbons' lyrics. I didn't think it was possible for her to seem any more forlorn and whispy, but I guess I was wrong. Part of this is the production, which has her voice buried or obscured in the mix a lot of the time, but her lyrics are still as bleak as they come. It's honestly fairly easy to ignore her lyrics though because her voice is still evocative and adds to the uncomfortable mood of the music.
Third is a brilliant album and a worthy addition to their catalogue. Right now I don't think it's as good as Dummy, but it's easily as good as their second album, maybe even better. Over time I can see this becoming my favorite release from the band. Third is a near masterpiece.
Complete waste of money May 2, 2008
C. Dodkin (California)
9 out of 41 found this review helpful
Rarely have I purchased a CD that has had so little worthwhile content.
Burning a $10 note would have provided better entertainment value.
I'm the dummy in this case - Portishead have turned to a steaming pile of cr@p.
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