PORTISHEAD--THIRD

by Rick Zeigler

Already on my short-list for album of the year, Portishead returns from a decade-long break to give us their third album titled (unironically) Third. Beth Gibbons' voice is still a thing of wondrous beauty and emotion, and the dark, film-noir feel of their previous work is certainly present and accounted for. But Third is anything but a simple retread of ground already covered. There's a wider variety of moods and beats present here, ranging from Can-like motorik rhythms to Silver Apples styled electronic loveliness to cello-led ballads over martial drumbeats (a seemingly unlikely combination that prevails gloriously) to tribal drumming joined by dissonant guitar lines (not to mention the ukelele-led nursery rhyme-ish "Deep Water"). The album opens with "Silence," which has a Can-like momentum, the main rhythms echoing the rush of a train while a soft, yet dominant, electric guitar strums chords to provide counter-rhythms. Dark synths and Gibbons voice provide an inviting menace on top (a common feature throughout). "Hunter" follows, a very slow and spare acoustic guitar, voice, and xylophone meditation. "Nylon Smile" leans heavily on Indian rhythms, while the tribal beat of "We Carry On," one of the album's many highlights, sees Gibbons singing in much more rhythmic patterns than we have previously heard from her. As the album goes on, songs and emotions get progressively darker and, due to the cut-up, jagged nature of many of Barrow's beats, almost nightmarish. Indeed, this is one of those albums that draws you in and gets stronger as it plays on. Don't expect any heartfelt moments of uplift or breeziness (aside from the aforementioned "Deep Water"). Third is all about the varieties of emotions on the dark side of our nature. With music as beautiful and as inventive as this, however, that dark side has rarely sounded more attractive.