BY MIKEY MIGO
After some ups and downs with the "First Impressions" series, I've had a lot of fun and learned a lot of music I don't normal listen to. If you're new to reading, basically I listen to a bands entire studio discography for the first time. I go with three to five album bands that I've never crossed paths with but have heard good things about from friends, other fans, and critics. For a long time I've heard the name "Portishead", but never had any background on them. It's not as if I shunned them or avoided them, it's just a band that I've never had the chance to listen to and get a real impression of. So this week, I listen to the three studio albums of Portishead.
Let's see how it goes.
Album: "Dummy"
Year: 1994
It starts with a very trippy sounding "Mysterious" and then kicks in with droning female vocals. It's hard to describe. It's blatantly trip hop, but it has a lot more substance to it than your normal "unh-tiss-drone" trip hop dance club shit. The second track is "Sour Times", a single. I really don't think I've heard this before. For some reason the bass line at the end reminds me of Nine Inch Nails. That's a plus for this listener. "Strangers" kicks off with a bad ass sequence and I find myself nodding a long for the first time. The vocal styling in this had a jazz feel to it. It's pretty unique, but not sure if I like it yet. "It Could Be Sweet" is the best showcase of Beth Gibbon's vocals so far. It's down tempo and has a good flow to it. There's no real change up in the song which dulls the experience to a nice dub mix of an elevator song. So far I can say that "Wandering Star" is my favorite track of this album. It has the best balance. That's until "Numb" hits. "Numb", an obvious single, is the best track of this album. It doesn't full redeem the album for me, but it doesn't make me cringe at the thought of two more albums of this. "Roads" just feels sorta there, but "Pedestal" was a relief. "Pedestal" was another track similar to "Numb" and "Wandering Star" in which it feels balanced. "Glory Box" sounds very familiar. I like it a lot and wish the album I just listened to was more like it. One album in and I'm not a fan of the group. I appreciate the individual qualities I hear, but as a packaged deal it's falling on sour ears.
Album: "Portishead"
Year: 1997
Hopefully, the sophomore album is better. The opening to "Cowboys" is much more interesting than just about all of "Dummy". The second track, "All Mine" is a single and sounds pretty good. The vocals aren't as jarring as the first album and I could see myself actually enjoying this one. And really, it's much easier to listen to. "Undenied" and "Half Day Closing" follows and are good tracks. I'd even go as far as saying that "Half Day Closing" is better than anything on the first album. "Over" is next, another single that I don't think I've ever heard. It's sorta just there. "Humming" is a pretty good track at just over six minutes. I appreciate the areas where you can get a bigger dose of the music. "Mourning Air" and "Seven Months" blend together, which is normally cool, but in this case it's dull. "Only You" samples The Pharcyde and Ken Thorne making the music really cool. It's not a bad song at all and I really like the break down about four minutes in, but I'll forget about it in ten minutes. "Elysium" is one of the more interesting songs. The vocals are mildly distorted and the music is dead on. I'm pretty surprised it wasn't one of the singles off this album. "Western Eyes" is another pretty good, not great, track and a good closer for the album. The music and vocals actually complement each other here. It makes for an interesting down tempo jazzy-esque song. Overall, I found this album much more listenable than the widely loved debut, "Dummy".
Album: "Third"
Year: 2008
"Silence" starts with noise. Go figure. I like the build up and am wondering where it's going. It builds oddly enough to a down tempo track where Beth's vocals are complimented the most. Good start. "Hunter" is another good track. The down tempo and melody contrasts works very well here. "Nylon Smile" is really "airy", but doesn't really hook me in at all. "The Rip" has a very calming effect to it at start, but builds up to what almost sounds like a Nintendo game score. Waking up to "We Carry On", the pulsing tempo and music makes it a pretty energetic song. It sorta reminds me of something you'd see in a vampire movie. A few more minutes in, I realize it's like a medieval rave where jesters would be dancing with lit candles instead of glow sticks. "Deep Water" is a short minute and a half track with minimal music and very good vocals by Gibbons. It's enjoyable more than most of what I've listened to today. I'd much prefer her vocals on music like this as opposed to the trip-hop styling. Then in a complete turn in contrast, we go to a very bassy and super produced "Machine Gun". It's a single, but it doesn't stand out much at all until the last couple of minutes that's filled with some crazy instrumentals. Then again, we jump to a down tempo/simplistic song with minimal music and softer vocals in "Small". It's not nearly as good as "Deep Water" and is like four times as long. "Magic Doors" kicks off with an interesting melody and loop. Sadly, it turns into another song that I'd probably hear at a hardcore renaissance fair if I'd ever attend one. The album ends with a very solid "Threads". Oddly enough, the last studio album track of their discography is probably my favorite. It's just a very good droning song that I'd add to a "go to bed" mix. I don't mean that in a bad way. If this is a bridge to their next album then I'll probably like "Fourth" the most of all.
First Impression of Portishead
My first thoughts about Portishead is that it's like if Jewel sang over a dub mix of a Gorillaz B-sides. Of course that's not completely true, but sometimes close. I like the music a lot, but the vocals are what threw me off. Beth's voice is beautiful and all, but on top of the awesome music it doesn't sit well with my ears. They sound really dated to the 90's club scene. I can just picture kids with glow sticks and jester hats over exaggeratedly dancing with glow sticks. Some of the music is really innovative and great, but it's just hard to take as a complete package. It's kind of upsetting because I think I might have gone into this listening session with much too high of hopes. Because of that this was one of the least enjoyable of the "first impression" series. "Dummy", their most widely acclaimed album was their worst in my opinion. "Glory Box" and "Numb" were okay, but didn't save it. The self titled "Portishead" is a bit better, but still nothing that I'd add to my collection. Then with their most recent effort "Third", it's a bit better. It had better flow, better composition, and better production. I say "better" with it meaning "I like it better". It's nothing official. It's just one listener's take on it. I can totally see why someone would like this. I'm just not one of those "someones". The music is REALLY good and it is quality "chill out" music. It just didn't resonate with me. It's something I can respect, but nothing that I'd want to add to my collection.
|
