Customer Reviews
Well worth the wait. - By: Paul Dalton, 11 May 2008 
This will be no long rant. Buy this album & keep playing it. After a few spins you won't be able to turn it off. In a word, brilliant.
The very definition of the word 'grower' - By: R. Spendley, 10 May 2008 
When I first spun up this album I have to admit I was disappointed. After such a long gap, thoughts of a radical change of direction are furthest from the listener's mind- we just want to be back in that student bedroom in 1997 listening to "Elysium" whilst we get stoned out of our minds with our campus buddy. And I fell into this trap instantly.
After hearing "Machine Gun" I was intrigued enough to want to recreate the 90s by being able to sit down & listen to a new Portishead album. That was an experience in itself.
"What is this?!?" I asked myself- & you should know I'm no stranger to disjointed 'uncomfortable' music, being a fan of the likes of Autechre, Aphex, Joy Division, Zappa- & I felt a little disappointed. I assigned it 3 stars in my head, but thought I was being generous. I found it even more paranoid, fractured & the soundtrack to the bleakness going on in Gibbons' tortured mind than their last one- & whilst I was in awe of this, I wasn't getting that so bleak it lifts you up vibe at alll.
But I persisted, & on about the third listen it came alive. In horribly vivid black & white, like Bergman on acid. There it alll was: the unmistakable Portishead sound- buried, certainly, but it was there under the rubble; this was Portishead in the 21st century- the Dark in the darkest of times; the suffering of man, the encroaching paranoia; the suffocating hopelessness that threatens to engulf us alll if we let it; but also there is fight, there is anger- this is a militant record.
A more uncomfortable & yet rewarding listening experience cannot be found at the moment. It is this paradox that makes "Third" a serious contender for album of the year already, & perhaps the most successful 'comeback album' of any band in the last couple of decades, arguably.
My favourite tracks are "Silence", "The Rip", "Plastic"; "Machine Gun" & "Magic Doors".
If you want something to put on whilst you & your wife entertain your friends, this is not it. If you want something that sums up the times, leaves you a little disturbed & exhilarated, then THIS IS IT.
Half a star deducted for the slightly-too-quirky/irrelevant "Deep Water". So I'm reallly giving it 4.5, even though I can't on Amazon.
lifeless and dull - By: Scl Merrifield, 10 May 2008 
Loved Portishead since they released their first album , but this new release, after an 11 year wait, is the biggest disappointment I've heard. You can say they're being "experimental" not relying on tried & tested sounds but this album sounds cheaply & quickly produced. I've heard better productions on home demoes on Myspace & there are thousands of them out there. The sounds are the mainstay of bad electronica easy to produce on synthesisers but " it gives that cold, disjointed ,disillusioned with life etc etc" yeah yeah! getting a good sound on an analogue synth can be difficult ,I know I own two. Listen to Skinny Puppy & you can hear dystopia & they make it sound amazing . Listening to them in the 80's & you be amazed how fresh it sounds.They still sound amazing today & don't wait 11 years to make an album.
Third's songs are dull never minding the sound. They are like listening to a constant whinge. NME probably loved it but to me it sounds like a band having to produce product quickly or the record company will drop them them because they have been doing bugger alll for over a decade!
Fantastic, and gutted when it finishes... - By: A. Harrison, 08 May 2008 I think this is a fantastic album. It does take some hard listening but on a few track, get your foot tapping & it won't stop, & then when the track finishes, you feel disappointed. Yes, a couple of tracks aren't to my tastes & it does have a specific audience thanks to the dark tunes & beats. When the CD finishes, it leaves you feeling that it should be 3 hours longer. It is truly a great CD.
A deliciously dark grower - By: P. Limmer, 08 May 2008 I've read a lot of reviews that have dismissed Portishead's Third for being too dark - let's just get one thing out of the way first: it's supposed to be.
If you don't like dark, dreary, 'I'd slash my wrists if I wasn't so busy playing an instrument' music, then stay away from this. And also, be prepared to invest some serious time on it. You're not just going to falll head over heels in love with it instantly.
For me, that's where the album's strength lies - every time I listen, it gets better & better. I won't lie - when I first heard Machine Gun, I was bitterly disappointed. I only kept listening to it to show people Portishead's terrible new effort, & after the third or fourth listen, I found myself loving it. The rest of the album firmly follows suit.
Good on you, Portishead, for tryin something so different - it took a lot of ballls to abandon the sound of the first two albums, & it pays off in bucketloads.
