Editorial Review:Amazon.co.uk:Portishead's
Third has been a long time coming, the result of a lengthy creative torpor 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
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Disc 1:- Silence
- Hunter
- Nylon Smile
- The Rip
- Plastic
- We Carry On
- Deep Water
- Machine Gun
- Small
- Magic Doors
- Threads
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
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REALLY BAD
U WAIT SO LONG FOR A NEW ALBUM FROM PORTISHEAD ....AND THEY DROPPED THE BALL ....ONE GOOD SONG ....AND MAYBE ONE OTHER OK SONG....
Rating: 
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Excellent album
Portishead is back with an album that is well worth the wait. Truly unique music as I haven't heard in years. One listen to "The Rip" should convince you. Highly recommended.
Rating: -
Great for the fans
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.
Rating: -
Deconstructing portishead
Revisiting themselves, this band make a fresh and sharp look to this new era of boredom nihilism
Rating: -
profoundly disappointed...
I waited 10 years for this??? seriously..."The Rip" (ironic song title) is as good as it gets??? I never would have thought that Thom Yorke would make Beth Gibbons irrelevant...it looks like i am keeping my Radiohead and losing my Portishead...or at least this release...see you in another 10 years...
