Rating: 2.5/5
When Portishead released its first album, Dummy, its thick beats, twisted samples, and melancholy sensibility ushered in a new UK sound called trip-hop. Full of slow bpms and brooding lyrics, Dummy was a refreshing contrast to the usually upbeat world of dance music. From the first notes of "Cowboys", the first track on the group's second self-titled affair, it's fairly obvious that producer Geoff Barrow and vocalist Beth Gibbons haven't cheered up very much, despite selling two million copies of their debut.
While a sense of depression and inner turmoil has been an innate theme of great songwriters like Nick Drake and American Music Club's Mark Eitzel, Portishead seems to mine the same terrain repeatedly. That said, after a while it all becomes just a bit redundant. Though "All Mine" sounds perfect for a James Bond movie, thanks to its dramatic strings, if you've heard Dummy, then you already know how this sad story ends.
Darren Ressler