Culture Kill Art Kill Culture

The infamous Portishead has finally shown up on the radar again with their recent release ‘Third’ on Mercury Records.  It’s been a little over ten years since the U.K. trio has dropped anything new at all down to their extremely loyal (( and at times almost cultish )) fan base.  I have to be honest, I was a little nervous putting this record on.  I had gone out of my way to avoid any kind of reviews or gossip leading up to it’s release ’cause I wanted to hear it for myself before I let any other opinions color my listening to it…  I’m a big fan, and had no idea what to expect. I was fully prepared for yet another great band coming out of a long hiatus, slapping me with a watered down, hollowed out album that barely approaches the standard of work they became known for… Y’all know exactly what the fuck I’m talking about…  These bullshit comeback albums that oftentimes include trumped up remixes of earlier hits peppered with a general sense of desperate nostalgia. (( Thanks for the new jams Public Enemy! ))  But Portishead’s Third hasn’t got a hint of any of this.  In fact they’ve pulled off such an incredible record, I feel guilty for entertaining the idea that these cats would do anything less.

This personal and always deeply manic group has had an unmistakable sound from the jump, and with this new record they’ve managed to do what many band’s coming off an extended time away from writing find impossible:  How do you stay true to the roots and history of your sound while still showing development and growth during your time away from the studio?  Not to mention Portishead also has the added pressure of being considered a forefather to the whole trip-hop scene, though they don’t really seem to claim anything of the genre or any of the praise for their influence in the field…  a solid move on their part.  It only adds to the stand-offish, solitary feel to their previous work…  and hey, they can’t help it if ten thousand London college kids with four tracks descended like so many locusts after downloading their first two albums.  They didn’t even miss a beat.

This innovative trio managed to completely recapture the dark vulnerability they were so well known for while simultaneously flexing their creative muscles.  Vocalist Beth Gibbons has a maturity she carries with her throughout the entire album like so many stones in her pocket, showing a huge leap in lyrical content and a deeper need for self examination in the grander sense not just the immediate - the record opens with the track ’silence’ and begins with a sample of a man speaking in Portuguese:

“Esteja alerta para as regras dos três O que você dá, retornará para você Essa lição, você tem que aprender Você só ganha o que você merece.”    -    “Be alert for the rules of the three.  What you give, will return for you.  This lesson, you have to learn.  You only gain what you deserve.”

These ideas dealing with the application of self into the world around you and that you’re behavior encourages similar behavior.  A spiritual theme… and one that’s not touched on in earlier albums…  come to find out the track was originally titled ‘wicca’ but was changed prior to it’s release hence the reference to the threefold law of the Wiccan Rede.

But this album runs the gamete, coming full circle on a track titled ‘Deep Waters’ an oddly cheery and simple song, just Gibbons and a banjo in conversation with her own angst, reminding herself not to take her sadness too seriously, ’cause everything has a way of working itself out…  an outlook that was nowhere in sight during the first two heavy-hearted, mainly dysphonic pieces.

As a general rule the entire album is far more musically aggressive than what you’re used to with these folks…  Bass heavy and thick, the record sounds more industrial at times than anything.  This newer feel coupled with seamless transitions from track to track, provide you with a fantastically sonic accomplishment.  Production values on this record are tenfold what we’ve grown to expect in the past and more widespread American distribution through Island Def Jam should make it a lot more accessible to the general public (( I bought the CD off a fucking Best Buy display for God’s sakes.  Anti-depressants not included. ))  My only hope is for an American tour sooner than later so I can finally see these guys do their thing live.  It’s certainly heartening to have this solid pop group back on the scene showin’ these kids whose boss.

All in all, regardless of whether or not you have a history with this band, if you give this record a spin, I guarantee more than one of these tracks will find a permanent spot on that play list that you reserve for those lonely, angst-filled nights of watching the snow, drinking by yourself and cutting…  if you’re into that sort of thing I mean.  If not, it’s still a damn good record and you’d be a fool not to add it to your collection.