Rating:6/10
Second-itis is a nasty disease, especially when your first album was a breakthrough on so many levels, as was Portishead's 1994 debut Dummy. That work was essentially the brainchild of keyboardist/ producer Geoff Barrow, who recruited the reclusive- yet- emotive singer Beth Gibbons to slink and float her voice over, under, and throughout Barrow's dense film noir- inspired musical trip-hop landscapes. Adding to the appeal was the fact that songs like "Sour Times" and "Glory Box" also clicked in the melodic department, obvious hits both.
So now, problem No. 1: How to top that, or even equal it? Problem No. 2: In the intervening years, several bands have emerged with the Portishead sound -- Hooverphonic, Sneaker Pimps, Olive, et al -- and at least capitalized on the sonic ideas, if not quite measuring up to Dummy's writing standards or Gibbons' anguished delivery. Barrow and company clearly felt the need to reclaim the title.
Sadly, as a result, Portishead feels forced in every way. The band has now admitted in the press that they came to a screeching halt for about a year while attempting to find the right approach to this record, hitting a firm writer's block and even experiencing what new member Adrian Utley terms their "dark period." Sometimes that can lead to brilliance, but not here.
On too many of these songs, Gibbons' breathy voice is filtered through distorted amps and such, too often sounding like she's calling long- distance through a bad connection or whispering through a megaphone. And that's just not necessary. Sure, they wanted to push the sonic envelope, but more extreme is not always the answer -- especially for a band that seemingly knew how to thrust its nuances to the forefront.
More disturbingly, there are no standout songs here, although that should not be surprising -- either in the historical sense, given the usual rate of sophomore slumps, or given their announced blockage. Perhaps they should have ended with the seventh track here -- the aptly- named "Mourning Air."
-John Bitzer