Music can be seen as the crafted language of sound, the distortion of noise to evoke meaning, a blissful assault on the senses summoning an assault with much more power than any intoxicating concoction can create. It is the only true global language, and certainly the most neutral. In the past, Portishead have utilised their musical words, and have filtered through some of those most delectable and haunting melodies as seen on debut, Dummy, and combined them with the unparalleled angelic voice of the awe-inspiring Beth Gibbons.
This long awaited, aptly penned ‘Third‘ album, was most auspicious considering the relentless progression displayed on eponymous second album; I for one was suffering from serious anxiety attacks merely placing the disc into my laptop, unbeknown as to what kind of terrified beauty may leak into my iTunes library. It would appear that not only have the band delved into a musical thesaurus, but they’ve become bilingual and have made up their entire dialect of their own.
While the seductive and concupiscent Glory Box-esque tracks are notably absent from Third, there is still the same mournful grace apparent in Beth’s rich vocal. Amidst the eclectic variety in the musical melee, her voice (I know I’m touching on this too much, but it truly is mind melting) soars through every off beat snare and all spook ridden keys to grasp upon your soul and plunge it into a dark, dank ketamine tunnel, drowning in such vast emotion. It’s absolutely magnificent, I really cannot emphasise this enough. That iconic P stands as strong as ever, manipulating the magic number into one of the finest albums of the millennium thus far. Please, support this wonderful band and indulge yourself into Third and its tragic magic. This is music at its most powerful and out now.
Joe Moynihan
Click these links to watch Portishead video clips:
‘We Carry On’
P Film 2
P Film 1