Alternative Music Talk

Massive Attack
Bristol, England
1988-present
Trip-Hop, Electronica

Links: http://www.myspace.com/massiveattack

Teardrop

Inertia Creeps

I am listening to the new Portishead album titled Third, the band’s first release in over ten years. This much anticipated album is a testament to the band’s evolution from trip-hop trance music, to an expressive and experimental body of work that transcends convention. This is Portishead matured. Third is a very beat-driven piece of work which digresses into the folky with the song Deep Water and is immediately thrust back into harsh industrial noise in the song Machine Gun. So far my favorite songs are Plastic and Small which are more vintage Portishead in their painfully depressing lyrics about love and betrayal. Beth Gibbon’s haunting voice takes the listener deeper and deeper into their dark world of despair. In my opinion this is Portishead’s best work so far, it is a work of art that commands attention and respect. Some fans might be disappointed by the harsh industrial beats and dark overtones in most of the songs, but it feels like a natural progression in sound for a band who insists on playing by their own rules. I highly recommend this.