I use the word “moody” to describe lots of different music in my other reviews, but I really should have saved it for Portishead. They are ALL mood.
They’re categorized as “trip hop,” and while I see the hop, I don’t see the trip. It’s more like “mood hop” or “gloom hop” or “blues from another planet hop.”
You get plenty of down-tempo programmed hip hop beats, a tightly tuned jazz drumkit playing more hip hop beats, keyboards that are usually very soft-edged and deep, touchy electric guitar, subdued bass guitar, occasional orchestra backings, record scratches, samples, and it’s all just a framework for the unmistakable vocals of Beth Gibbons, with her smoky voice and weeping delivery, portraying sort of a hopelessly romantic, helplessly depressed outlook.
That sounds like a lot when you read it, but Portishead’s songs tend to sound extremely sparse. You could almost call it elevator music if it weren’t so dark and haunting. The band has a lot of restraint, letting their simple tunes and simple beats breathe. You get the sense that every millimeter of movement is intentional.
It’s good shit, man, probably the most sensitive-sounding band that really interests me.
I suppose the only problem with their style is you can only do so much with it, and well, they didn’t. They released just two studio albums in the 90s, which contain their most well-known material, and followed that with a live album. It was more than 10 years later when they released anything else, and it’s not nearly as well-received as their early stuff.
Still, Portishead left their mark and have stood the test of time. There might be bands that are similar to Portishead, but there’s something to them that you can’t just manufacture.
Dummy
1994
8 divine upper reaches out of 10
It’s quintessential Portishead. You got your “Glory Box” aka “Give me a reason to beeeeeee … a woman.” You got your “Sour Times” aka “Nobody loves me … it’s true.” You got your “Roads” aka “How can it feel … this wrong?” Each one works the Portishead formula to utter perfection, I tell you, while also being distinct.
“Glory Box” adds a touch of string orchestra behind crawling beats and whining guitar, while “Sour Times” has a bit more momentum and brightness, borderline funkiness, and these spooky bell samples. “Roads” is especially awesome, with its deep, soft, eerie keyboard chords echoing until you can barely hear them before the next chord pipes in. Fucking hell I LOVE that song.
The mood on the album never perks up, super gloomy the whole way through, but there’s plenty of musical variance song to song. “Wandering Star” gets pushed forward by uncomfortably steady electro-chords. “It Could Be Sweet” has a lounge pop feel and Beth is more on top of the mix than usual. “Numb” dips its toes into more of a street hip hop sound with what sounds like a bright Latin drum in there.
Some songs might not cut it next to the others, but all in all, this album is pretty goddamn amazing.
Portishead
1997
8 shoupion skies out of 10
So much for sonic variance. The band seems to have solidified a sound here, with most everything pulled up to the mids and trebles, less of that big deep keyboard sound, beats that have more high-pitched nuances from acoustic drums and cymbals, and more record scratching.
“All Mine” even gets bright, blaring horn samples that sound like they’re from some 60s soul song, and Beth gives the song extra gusto to match it. Man, lots of good songs, the grooving “Half Day Closing,” the dynamic “Over,” the make-you-cry downcast “Humming,” and the down-tempo, romance-gone-down “Only You.”
Like on the first album, certain songs definitely jump out more than others. Overall, though, it’s a more cohesive, consistent album. I actually used to think it was Portishead’s debut because it sounds less modern, more retro.
Roseland NYC Live
1998
10 tales of deceit out of 10
Man, this is almost cheating. Take the best songs you got — five from Dummy, six from Portishead — and add a big orchestra?
I say “almost” cheating because you still need to execute, and it’s amazing to hear real-life humans replicating Portishead’s studio sound so goddamn well.
This album sounds so unbelievably perfect, adding just a tiny bit of live energy to the original songs. It’s subtle, touchy, nuanced, balanced, powerful, soaring, and the vocals are ON POINT. It’s impressive that Beth stays so in the pocket, so in tune, AND pouring such emotion into a live performance.
The musicianship gets my same impressed reaction, particularly because it’s vibrant yet so UNDER CONTROL. Nobody ever takes over the stage. With music this touchy, one sneeze or slipped finger could spill a big splotch of “Bu-BLAARRHH” on the whole painting, but it doesn’t happen. (Well, at least we don’t hear it. This was technically recorded over three different shows. You can watch the full NYC performance on the video version.)
Anyway, you won’t get better than this, 57 minutes of Portishead’s best, sounding its best.
Third
2008
6 riddles I’ve been fed out of 10
Well, this certainly doesn’t measure up. I don’t think it was supposed to. Beth’s voice is still here, but the guys are off in La La Land, or perhaps Berlin. (Because apparently some of the stylings in this album fall into a genre called “krautrock,” which saw its heyday in the 60s and 70s in Germany, and Berlin is in Germany, you rube!)
There’s some odd departures from the old formula. It’s generally a lot less smooth-edged, slow, and easy on the ears, and a lot more clangy, mid-tempo, and assaulting. There’s industrial synth sounds at one point, fuzzy Euro dance pop, classical acoustic guitar, and even a fucking UKULELE! (Not everyone shares my disdain for the ukulele, but who’s going to argue that it’s like the least Portisheadish instrument ever?)
I still like it, though. As a matter of fact, I think it’s pretty damn cool that Portishead popped out of nowhere after 10 years and were like, “Hey, here’s a new album. It’s weird as all hell. What were you expecting? More trip hop?”
Each song has its own thing going. Some are easier to listen to than others, some sound closer to the old style than others, but they’re all inspired. I can’t say that I truly enjoy this album, but I’m certainly intrigued by it.
Published October 2021