Third

If you are in crisis reach out for help. In the U.S. you can connect to the suicide and crisis hotline by texting or calling 988.

I have tried to get into this band but it is just not great for me.

Listened on: 2024/05/11 Track List: 1. Silence 2. Hunter 3. Nylon Smile * 4. The Rip * 5. Plastic 6. We Carry On 7. Deep Water 8. Machine Gun 9. Small 10. Magic Doors 11. Threads -- Very atmospheric and unique. I've never heard something like this before. -- Instrumental and vocals are great, putting me on edge.

Meh ...

We are Portishead! And we are here to make you think of death and stuff!

I want to like it, but it's just a tad too much experimental noise nonsense for my tastes.

Yeah no

I like some porterhead but this really isn't my cup of tea.

Strange

Too far out there.

Strange album. Switches genres regularly, which really catches you off guard. Just wish some of the songs were more interesting. 2.5/5 Probably won't listen again

What a terrible departure from their previous success. This just feels like arthouse garbage.

Disappointing departure from Dummy sound. 2/5

Not great. Dummy is better in every way.

Não

There were moments in which I thought, is this cool? And maybe it was true in those moments. Was it good as a whole? Absolutely not. I don’t get the vibe, some songs feel as if they were a draft and man did it draagggggg. I think like this slightly more than Dummy, but it still didn't do it for me.

Dziwne i słabe 2/5

Nope- I remember they had one song and were on SNL but this is post apocalyptic

Heard of the band but never the music. Wish it could’ve stayed that way. Band is named for the town in England that one of band is from…too bad it wasn’t the town of Shitterton. An album that gives and sounds like a headache. Where’s the aspirin?

Wanted to like it more than I did. I’m sure there’s a mood to be in to enjoy it but I wasn’t in that mood

Vraag me toch aardig af hoe dit gezien kan worden als invloedrijk, maar oké wie ben ik

Echt niet prettig om naar te luisteren, aardig vervelend stemgeluid van mevrouw en daarnaast toch ook wel wat rare tonen hier en daar

A lot of the songs aren’t just slow, are additionally stressful to listen to; there are parts/aspects of Nylon Smile and The Rip that I almost like

Not my thing but ooh, what a sweet design!!

I remember hating this in college so I was looking forward to setting aside my prejudices and giving it a fair shake all these years later. And what I found was that, all these years later, listening to this incredibly pretentious, up-its-butt album is STILL an annoying, frustrating experience from beginning to end.

Crisismuziek

The singing scares me a little.

I wanted to like this a lot better than I did. There are some cool synth textures but overall it's just not really my bag.

Kind of a slog to get through. Far from the worst thing I've heard from this list recently, but not great. Songs went on too long. I did enjoy "Deep Water," but that was about it.

Not really for me

Machine gunissa on hieno ja ikoninen tausta, tai niin on koko biisikin. Muuten levy jää yllättävän tasaiseksi hyminäksi ja musamatoksi, josta mikään muu ei nouse esille. Pitäisi tosissaan keskittyä nyansseihin, mutta mikään ei kutsu mua siihen.

Fine easy listening but prob won’t revisit

p922. 2008. 2.5 stars. Not their best work - see "Dummy" for that - and it lacks any standout tunes and descends into noise very quickly.

Never heard Portishead before. This is mellow, not really my jam with the airy singing. Has potential and similarities to other music I enjoy, but meh. 2*. Enjoyed: the rip (reminds me of Simulation Theory Muse) Did not enjoy: dissonance in we carry on, magic doers

Portishea's songs are moody and emotional, reminiscent of Kate Bush and Bjork. The first three songs on "Third" are rough and ... well ... boring. Some songs are well-constructed: listen to "The Rip" for when you feel that you have reached bottom, and "We Carry On" is another good choice. The rest are like the first three.

Aww like 2.5, some of this sounds amazing, some of it sounds like they duplicated 6 minutes worth of loops and forgot to edit it or finish the song.

I can't really get on with it. I'll echo what I've said about a load of previous albums we've had that fall in the electronica/experimental/weird genre, I find it hard to engage with unless there's a consistent drive and a power and a loudness to it, and this never gets to that point for me, although Machine Gun kind of teases it and is clearly my favourite track on the album for that reason. I can over look some of the weird shit on Silence, Plastic and We Carry on because it never becomes central to the music, just a curious experimentalism underpinning it all. I don't like Beth Gibbons' voice but I also don't hate it like some obnoxious vocals we've had, and there are a few times throughout this where if I metaphorically squint, I'm taken back to Origin Of Symmetry and Absolution and get vibes of songs like Endlessly or Ruled By Secrecy or Space Dementia, I think it's a mix of the haunting falsetto and the style of music reaching a crescendo that gets to that point, though I might just be chatting shit and have Muse on the brain right now. Anyway, I'll give it a 2 because it interested me enough to write this much but didn't make me like it enough to give it a 3.

Not my jam. There are occasions where you get a a bit enveloped and overwhelmed by the sound, which is interesting, but really it doesn't do that enough or offer much of anything else beside that. It's often jarring (particularly combining the harshness of some of the synthy stuff with the floatiness of her voice), but not in a way that gives it a particular direction. 2/5.

Overall this album made me feel kinda anxious when listening to it, which feels like it might be the point. But I was not a huge fan. I did like Deep Waters though!

Awful, sounded like tom cats howling in an alley. Could not listen after 2nd song.

I like dance electronica, but not this electronica. I can see the artistry, but it does nothing for me. I like Beth Gibbons voice, and I don't regret listening to the whole album, but I'm not revisiting it later.

Huge miss. Was excited to see Portishead but then I realized I didn't recognize the album at all. Come to learn it's an album recorded 11yrs after their heyday. "Third moved away from the trip hop style they had popularised, incorporating influences such as krautrock, surf rock, doo wop and the film soundtracks of John Carpenter." So they're literally junked what they did well and ventured I to genres that are unlistenable. The result is a drab boring gut punch

Anyone waiting on this was sure to have been disappointed, no? Certainly it has its moments and casts a spell at times but then yields it with odd choices; "Silence," the opener grows into an engaging groove which is then cut off with a rather jarring truncated close, an annoyance repeated on another song or two. The stop-start contrast of sounds on "Hunter" is also off-putting – works, then doesn't; works, then doesn't. Similarly, "The Rip" is exactly one-half (unnecessairly sloooow and tortuous and ultimately dull) build-up and one-half close-to-compelling hook which is given up too soon –– huh? why, exactly? – when it shoulda been the guts of the whole song. Beth G can do drama for sure but the constant shifts undo the tension (see "Plastic" with yet another cool effect wasted by being chopped and chopped, then chopped again). "We Carry On" seems as if it wants to rock PJ Harvey-ly and offers a soary/haunting hook a la Radiohead but they that too is dropped or minimized for a not altogether uninteresting little skiffle bit that could go poppy but nether angle holds, really and the song breaks down as a result. Then a warbly ukulele lullaby, making no sense at all, by some a industrial-y dental appointment of a song "Machine Gun." "Small" also tries to be too many songs at once and cuts off abruptly. On the whole, P'head seem determine to have listeners lose the plot or make themselves hard to follow, which they just don't merit. One doesn't mind the darkness and droning – in fact, one is naturally drawn to such and very much wants to like this record and hear them give in fully to droning in one direction or another – there's really power here, but the shifting and reversals compromise the drive and undo the engaging moments. The record falls far short of the high-impact, high-art effect it clearly seeks. Listen to the final tones – they seem to thiink they've just put you through a NIN-like spectacle or told a story like The Wall or some grand operatic statement, which ... well, they seem to have been watching a different movie. Rounding down because it coulda/shoulda been better.

Experimental and not so great

Not the vibe.

Lænede sig lidt for meget i retning af elektronisk støj for min smag.

I believe this is the third Portishead album we’ve had on his list. Which is just effing ridiculous. Especially considering how many artists get one random throw away selection but otherwise ignore it. This is just boring

The singer's voice is even more grating than the music.

Meh.

I have always felt like I should like Portishead but I just don’t. I like this album even less than their previous ones. I even listened to it driving through countryside at 5 a.m. after dropping my son at the airport which should be perfect Portishead vibes. Still nope, sorry Portishead. Listens: 2 Fave Track: Silence (the irony haha) Rating: 2

I love electronic but this just felt spooky and off key. Got redundant for me

Not my cup of tea.

I couldn't make it through this album twice. I like weird music and this didn't do much for me.

It's Portishead. Good stuff if you like it. Boring and weird if you don't. I kinda don't.

The album starts really good, the end is weaker, a good time overall, nothing blew my mind.

Wow, I didn't even know this existed. I liked their first one and loved their second one and double loved their live album (which isn't streaming for some reason I guess?) But yeah - this doesn't cast quite the same spell as earlier albums. Seems like the ingredients are there - those haunting vocals, layered samples, etc. But I wouldn't be surprised to learn that a Portishead member left before this one was recorded. There's just something missing here. And then I just read the rundown and, yeah, I guess that sort of thing did happen. Is that why this leaves me a little cold? Maybe. May be.

This girls a creep!! Creepy and weird. This one’s too abstract for me, it’s all too loose to the point like yes I’ll call it music cause that’s what it is and what it’s intended to be but I think a lot of people wouldn’t find this aligns with their definition(I’m making up the they). Feels like laying on your back in a quiet, spinning room with a wicked hangover.

didn't really enjoy it but i did finish listening

I can imagine it being better in a different mood.

Not really my style

Agobiante y opresivo.

I do not understand why this album is on this list. The last Portishead album was barely tolerable. The same is true for this one. It is not really a two but I will round up.

Ah, Portis Head (or porta-shed according to every dbag fan of theirs I've ever met). I actually like her voice and the songs are interesting enough. Still, the music all just sounds like you're playing the boss level of the lamest NES game that was ever made.

OK, too weird for me .. 3 stars

Wikipedia gives the music genre as experimental rock / electronica / psychedelic rock; I would call it depressing pretentious rock suitable for use as the soundtrack of a bleak sci-fi movie set in some dystopian future. Although I quite liked "We Carry On" which reminded me a bit of Joy Division.

Ok music but it didn't hold my interest

It's the album that killed off Portishead and took forever to make. To be honest it's experimental and not much works

cool, but did not like the detuned kind of sound that literally everything had.

No thanks.

didnt really like how industrial it is at all, really liked her voice tho which saves the album from a 1/5

As a child of the early 90s, at first I was really excited to finally listen to Portishead. For some reason I've really never listened to them, even after knowing their early work was lauded as important and great trip-hop. Unfortunately my expectations didn't really align with what I heard. If this is great trip-hop, then I really don't understand trip-hop. It just seems incredibly uninspired and tedious to me, and I can't get past the dissonant vocals. That being said, I did kind of enjoy "Magic Doors." So I've got that going for me. Which is nice.

I know this album is supposed to be good. I remember all the music critics falling over themselves for this. Wasn’t for me.

Dark and weird. Interesting and creative. Repetitive sounds that reminded me of the banging of an MRI during different sequences, with the patient singing along while on valium. EERIE.

I’ve definitely come across the name Portishead before, but I don’t think I’ve ever actually heard any of the music. My understanding is that it’s pretty trippy - meaning, from experience, I’ll either love it ir hate it. Let’s listen and find out. Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Machine Gun For the most part, I found this album very uninteresting. It’s pretty lo-fi, generally sounding like some mechanical banging with a lady caterwauling over the top of it. There were a few songs that seemed to click better for me (in the first 20 seconds it so of Machine Gun I hated it, but despite being a pretty repetitive song I did end up liking it by the end). Overall, I think this is an album that some people will love, and other people won’t really see the appeal at all.

I aåpr

Self-absorbed hipster-trash. 1.5/5

Don't love. 2.5 stars

Trippy trip... I can hear some sounds from past generations, but it just ain't my taste...

I was excited when I saw today's album was Portishead, but this was disappointing. I prefer their stuff from the '90s.

Ughhhhhh not for me thanks. So slow, didn’t have pop.

All of the tracks seemed to blend into the background. Didn’t really engage or connect in any way.

One good tune, the rest is pretty oblique. Their first record is fantastic and this is technically excellent, but just really cold.

Dummy is better

Fuckin weird….

Not really much for me. Can understand how it would appeal to others.

Sonically it sounds good however song structure is random, never quite ambient never quite in your face.

So hard to listen to.

This was interesting, also weird

Not a fan

Not my cup of tea at all.

If I listened to this album on repeat for a few times, I might enjoy it, but as it is every track sounds the same and nothing really stands out to me. 2/5.

Didn’t feel any reason to care about this album. 4/10

Not my thing

Played this one on the background while I was working. Did not really pay attention to the music. Feels a bit unfair but I will give 2 stars. Sorry, Portishead.

Meh

My last album was Fever Ray and I liked it. So why don't I like this? /shrug Who knows why one thing is cool and another thing is boring. Both boring and stressful, actually. Not a fan.

Dit is zo'n plaat waarvan ik eigenlijk weinig vind...

The singer is good but didn’t like the music.

Nie wiem czy jest sens sluchac bez opisywania, a przynajmniej do konca tygodnia jeszcze bez palca

Interesting, but I wouldn't say I liked it too much. But it had some memorable songs and tunes. I do think it would deserve a re-listen but I don't think I am ever depressed enough to get into this.

Kind of hated it

Ah man I love Portishead so much and there were some brilliant moments throughout this album but my overall experience was not gooood. I guess I prefer their less heavy songs and more chill vibes kind of tracks that they have. Majority of this album was a bit too depressing for a bit of an already low day so I can't rate this very high for this album. Doesn't contain any of my favourite Portishead tracks either. Boo.

Well I found this very boring indeed. I don't really know Portishead well but I thought I was going to like it. Found it pretentious with no substance. Little variation musically.

I probably listened to more new music in the late 2000s than any other period of my life. So, the fact that I had no idea Portishead released a new album in 2008 I think speaks to its lack of popularity. This is a wholly unremarkable album. Lots of mundane background effects with Bjork-esque vocals layered on top. The only song that seems to break this mold is Deep Water and that song might be the worst of the bunch. Don't get me wrong, there are some cool moments here, such as the ending of "The Rip" and "Machine Gun" but no song feels like it wants to do more than "hey, that's a cool effect, let's repeat it." I feel like the only reason this is critically acclaimed is because they put out a great album in the 90s and critics were impressed they could mount something of a comeback.

Not my usual listening style. I liked some of it, but I was ready for it to end overall. Not sure I understood what I was hearing.

Lulls you to sleep. Wakes you up with a sudden beat change. Rinse and repeat. Lots of Dust Brothers vibes. "Machine Gun" the only standout.

I now know I don’t like trip hop.

i feel nothing about this.

Not to my taste, not like anything I’ve heard before. Very experimental, can see why it appeals to some, like those with absolutely no taste in music 😁

Atmospheric, creepy, discordant. Sounds like an album of soundtrack pieces from "Killing Eve" or "Handmaid's Tale".

Not really a fan.

Too many weird noises , some bits were ok though

Anxiety.mp3

Pretty challenging listen. I don't think the waily/siren singing here works for me. The Rip and Machine Gun are the most approachable sonically, but most of the other tracks feel experimental.

Haunting, ethereal, dark? Yes. Interesting? I'm not so sure. I felt myself waiting for this album to end. A few nice beats but the vocals just became grating in the end, I had no interest in what Beth Gibbons was singing about in the end, I just wanted her to stop.

Interesting sound. Very powerful. I'd like to keep hearing this one so I can get to know it better. For now it is a strong 2.5 /5.

Listened to on 5/3/22 2/5 Favorite song: deep water This album is dark and if it was a person I would be concerned for their mental health - the machine gun song was fun and chaotic

The two songs with ukulele were the only almost half-decent songs. The rest was just atrocious.

You know, this sounds like something I would like, but they lost me by about 6 songs in. I had several issues with the creative choices taken here, ended up just not enjoying the trip

Pointless inclusion to the list. I found the group to lack identity and the sounds were not cohesive as a whole. I did not enjoy listening to this.

Yet another electronic atrocity. Weird, bad sounding background noise, lyrics that are just there to have them because for anything else they're not good enough....

Yeah nah. Playing some minor chords on the keyboard than waffling some airy fairy twaddle over the top does not music make.

I was counting the minutes on this one...

I didn't hate it at all, but since I gotta compare it to all the other albums on this list, it falls into the 2 category for me Had some cool vibes at times, I liked the darkness of it Parts to remember: the 2nd half of The Rip, the guitar hook in We Carry On Machine Gun was very reminiscent of NIN

dos

Big fan of the first 2 portishead albums, and the live album..... Dummy is probably my favourite album of all time. but this effort represented the point that Portishead disappeared up their own behinds. I was so excited to listen to it on the run up to its release.....and then.....disappointment. Listening back to it now, it's not as dire as I remember it..... but it's still an act of sabotage on everything that made Portishead so wonderful

This mostly didn't offend my ears, but is so, so, unrelentingly boring. Even the fog horn sound at the end of the album goes on, and on, and on. Please just finish so I can get on with my life. It annoyed me. 1.5/5.

This band could be pretty cool if they didn't have a Björk wannabe standing at the front. Best track: The Rip

I'm home from work with a massive headache and I get this? This is the last album i want to hear right now. The music is interesting but her whining is making me want to blow my eyebrows off. Hope to a non existing god this is the last we here from her.

Wouldn’t entirely classify this as an electronic album. Felt more alternative. However it has a unique style with the female singing and the various instrumentals and beats. It’s not really my style but it’s interesting at least. 3.7/10

I had forgotten that this came 11 years after their second album, 14 after their debut. It was proclaimed a "reinvention" of the band's sound, and it really is apart from the very familiar Beth Gibbons vocals. It has a harshness to it throughout that I unfortunately found grating. Sharp mechanical beats, abrupt transitions, and dissonant instrumental crescendos all contribute to a strange suspense film vibe. Overall I probably won't revisit even though they get full credit for not phoning in another Dummy after so many years.

Reminds me a lot of In Rainbows. I don't like In Rainbows

Dark, brooding, depressing....what am I missing?

I kind of like the experimental feel about it, but at some point it gets a bit annoying.

Strange and wide mix of songs, but unfortunately I didn't really like it (notable exception being The Rip).

Sorry, but I just can't stand Beth's vocal style.

I genuinely thought I'd really like this album.... I didn't

This ain’t it. Do not want.

Truly yikes

A few nice tracks. Overall too melancholy for me. Would need to be in a very specific mood to enjoy this.

The production seems top notch with interesting tidbits of instruments that pop up in each song. However, overall its not very memorable to me and just too depressing with the haunting vocals and lyrics. Not into it. 2.4/5.0

Fine album, still not really my thing.

Intensely disliked most of this. Pretentious but also boring. The vocal delivery... I honestly can’t fathom anyone wanting to listen to singing like that.

4 tracks in and I am still waiting to grab onto something. I don't find the acid club/industrial rock genre incredibly compelling in album format. I am sure they would be much different live, with a lot of sweaty people doing drugs and losing their minds. Deep Water with the surprise ukulele! yep the rest of the album is the same and I couldn't wait for it to end.

Third is the third studio album by English electronic music band Portishead. It was released on 28 April 2008 in the United Kingdom by Island Records and a day later in the United States by Mercury Records. Portishead's first studio album in eleven years, it moved away from the trip hop style they had popularised, incorporating influences such as krautrock, surf rock, doo wop, and the film soundtracks of John Carpenter.

ehhhhhhhhhhh

This is Portishead refined. I didn't like Portishead unrefined, and I like them refined even less.

I can only say this so many times, weird foreign albums stay weird. At least this one is in English

ehhh. This was a weird album filled with droning sounds trying to disguise itself as experimental svante-garde rock.

a little painful on the ears at times, but the singer has an incredible voice.

did not like. creepy. 2 songs were good. mitski on acid

Not an easy listen at all. Too experimental and harsh and grating. Didn't enjoy. I'm clearly too middle of the road preferring their first two albums. Beth's voice is still poignant and emotional.

Bit weird. Not for me at all but doesn't deserve to be rated a 1 like albums that have been rated a 1. Doesn't offend my ears but I'd definitely skip their songs.

Appreciate it for what it is. But just couldn’t get a feel for the album

Found this boring, I appreciated some of the music throughout but they didn't really get developed much if at all. For what I'd say is fairly minimalist in its approach I'd need to connect more to the vocals but I didn't get much emotion from the singer albeit a seemingly good singer. 2* just not my thing I guess but not awful.

It was okay. Good not great imo, but I can respect it for what it is.

Bleak and not very accessible.

Its the most pretentious thing I've heard. Elements are interesting but fucking hell most of it dull and without redeeming features. A generous 2/5

drogas

3.5

Agobiante y opresivo.

Deep water good, rest is kind of 90s matrix oriented baroque electronic with lady vocals

Okay. 5/10

Some songs reminded of evanescense, but too repetitive and annoying in a long listen

Very different I don’t know how to feel about it initially.

Niet echt lekker, zal het niet nogeens opzetten

Very uneven. Not something I’d listen again

This wasn't for me.

Not my thing

Nothing exciting here. Lots of ambient sounds. Not really my thing

Silence- creepy vocals actually gave me goosebumps. head pumpin drum loops. Defiantly weird. Might be just a little too downtempo and a 90's grunge sad with 2000's electronic dissonance.

Yeah I don't know if I dig Portishead.

mmm not my favorite

don't care for it. Is not something I would listen to for pleasure. Weird without a purpose. Favorite song, Deep Water, 3/8.

boring

Trip-hop, langsomme rytmer, eksperimenterende

There's not a lot of vocal dynamics and a lot of this album is just so much wallpaper. I got halfway through before I found a song I could remember, let alone could say I enjoyed. Really like it when it gets noisy and dissonant. Favorite tracks: "We Carry On", "Magic Doors"

Why do artists choose to make horrible music, and why do you include them in your list?

Bailed after 4.5 tracks. Gave me a headache

Really annoying voice. Couldn't get through it

With the electronic accompanying music and the horribly irritating vocalist, this is worse than anything Radiohead ever recorded. I read there was a big hiatus for this band during which one member lost interest in music before recording this tragedy - apparently he never regained it.

My gut reaction was that the vocals sound affected and over dramatic. As the album progressed, I found them more and more irritating. I suspect that there was a depth in the lyrics that I was missing, but I found my mind wandering. There were a few glimmers of interest here and there, when the music would cresendo and create something with more depth. Then this would tend to repeat continuously for long enough to get boring. Overall I just found the music dull and the vocals annoying.

I am definitely not keen on portishead at all. Gave up after two songs. Glory box is an ok song though, but their songs need a very specific mindset to enjoy. in fact they really feel more like background music used to set a certain mood.

I’ve never really understood Portishead. I can appreciate the atmosphere they create, but I often find the music ultimately forgettable. I scored Dummy a 1/5 and found it pretty dull, so I went into Third hoping it might change my mind. Unfortunately, it didn’t. Third feels like an album that’s trying to be deliberately abstract and experimental, but for me it never really lands. I struggled to understand what it was aiming for, and there aren’t any real standout moments that pull you in. The songs drift along without much variation, and while the sound is moody and atmospheric, it rarely develops into anything memorable or engaging. Lyrically, nothing really stood out either, and combined with the slow, brooding production, the album ends up feeling quite flat. It’s one of those records that just passes by without leaving much of an impression, despite its clear intent to be something more distinctive. Favourite tracks: “Machine Gun” was probably the most trck along with Silence. Least favourite tracks: Nothing individually awful, but much of the album blends together and feels uneventful Album artwork: I really like the cover, its simple but effective, and more striking than the music itself

Ei

Electronic 👎

very sad and slow not for me

spooky and jarring but beautiful. although with every song, I wanted to turn it off more. made my anxiety skyrocket. not for me!

Was excited when Portishead popped up. I know a few songs from the radio, but they must have been on earlier albums cause this is horseshit

im not gonna be a Portishead fan... i just don't think its gonna happen. i have found that derivatives of 'Krautrock', just never really vibe with me. im good

Why is this album rated so highly? It's not enjoyable. It doesn't feel that creative. Is it just so people can say that they like weird music? Maybe I "just don't get it".

Unknown band. I found most track were annoying. Bad album.

Beetje vaag album, niet mijn ding.

Nope, just no.

*An ok album

I have enough anxiety, thanks

Fuckin garbage

Hier kan je flink nerveus van worden. En enkel relaxed nummer, maar verder niets voor mij.

Not a fan

This brand of their sound doesn’t suit them well. I don’t really enjoy this album at all. I miss the simply dark and mysterious beats on Dummy.

Puro sonido a lo estúpido. Pero no soy músico, tal vez y este álbum es la revolución de un género y fue creado meticulosamente. Llegué a Carry On, y si, es horrible. Para alguien normie como yo. Esto es cagada.

I don't mind trip-hop but this was extremely dull

Certain albums just don't deserve to be on here.

Not trip hop, but experimental. That explains it.

not for me

The transitions in the album were horrendous which made it feel like a series of singles rather than a complete project- I also don’t like the vocalist and therefore couldn’t listen to the whole thing

1.5/10

Weird. And weird doesn’t always mean bad but unfortunately, in this case, it does in fact mean bad. Didn’t get on with this at all really.

Not for me

I did not enjoy this album; the music was painful to listen to. Kind of like Enya but more modern?

Just a terrible dirge of the album without a single positive aspect. Difficult to believe the same band that produced sour times, numb and glory box and even harder to understand how this makes a list of 1001 albums to listen to.

Nope. Awful, screechy nonsense.

This album was painful. Jarring noise more apt to nails on a chalkboard than music.

anxiety inducing

Previously rated: #548 - Dummy (4/5) ************************* Album #984 I thought oh no when this popped up, but then I checked my rating and saw I enjoyed their other album. Well...I should have trusted my first instinct. This sucked. I don't remember exactly what Dummy sounded like, but it couldn't have been as slow and dreary as this. Way too experimental and avant garde for my taste. I didn't enjoy anything on this album.

Damn! How can someone be so ugly?!?

I am uncertain whether this qualifies as music and not torture devices produced by the CIA. I was ready to confess after 30 seconds listening to We Carry On.

Was not really my thing. Had kind of a fun spooky vibe at times, but wasn't really ear catching and was grating at times.

tervanjuontia

this album feels so evil idk how else to describe it lol

Not a fan of this one. Mostly just noise to me. 1.5/5

I didn't get it. I loved Dummy but this was really hard to listen to.

This isn't Glorybox! I can't f**k to this!

Portishead should have taken at least another eleven years off. And please get a new vocalist, she’s subpar. Third is about 1/3 each; sad, off-key, and annoying. L = (0.11*s) Depressing music that gave me a headache. J = (1.3*s) Miz.

Interesting that this was tagged as electronica because this is 100% not what I think when I think electronica. I found this to be incredibly boring. The outro (final minutes, not even the final song) was the most musically interesting thing for me.

Meh. I had heard of this band before, but had never listened to them. This is about what I was expecting. Very meh.

I guess too experimental for me. Just irritating. Couldn't fast forward fast enough.

Shit

Painful. Overall, a depressing tone and mood. This album proves to me that most of the 3-rated albums here come from a combination of 1’s and 5’s. I am soundly in the 1 group here and it feels like the folks giving it a 5 might need therapy. However, to each his own as they say. I’ll never listen to this again!

What a bizarre album. It starts pretty solid. Then we get a number of very weak songs - I really can't stand Beth Orton's voice - and then we once again have a very strong song. But it's a total Kraftwerk rip-off. And I really mean totally. It becomes even worse, because we get one more Kraftwerk rip-off and two utter Can-rip-offs. These are the strong songs of the album, the other songs are unbearable. Except for the opener 'Silence' which seems to be original and is okay. But this deserves penalty points.

Weird people music… there’s a place for it, but not on my box.

Meh. Sounds like what I’d listen to if I was a witch.

I actually like a couple Portishead songs from the 90’s when they were actually relevant. This was not a fun album to listen to. I didn’t like it.

Exceptionally depressing!

New Portishead is not old Portishead.

It's an album. But not one that I wish I had listened to. I actively dislike this.

This was excruciating to listen to

Nei

Faan så slitsomt

A meaningless jumble.

According to Wikipedia the influences for this album are krautrock, surf rock, doo wop, and film soundtracks of John Carpenter. I heard none of this. As my first Portishead album, I was not impressed, in fact I was quite bored. Nothing really new here.

No. Her voice grates my nerves. Portishead always drives me from a room. No.

Bleh meh. Just a plodding whiny waste of time.

My 200th album is.......... borderline unlistenable byroncore shite I genuinely was fighting the urge to turn it off when We Carry On came on, oh my fucking god that song was dreadful. I had to skip it 3 minutes in. Every song after WCO I had to jump through and/or skip because of how unlistenable they were. I couldn't stand to listen to this dogshit any longer. I hope this is the only Portishead album on this list. I thought I'd get something COOL for my 200th but unfortunately I got this.

Who listens to music to get nightmares?

Terrible

Wank

oy vey

A whole lot of randomness. The clashing sounds and odd melodies are off-putting. The minor chords are somewhat haunting. Soft vocals, but harsher/grating instrumentals. Also why are the vocals so often out of tune?

Manchmal habe ich vergessen, dass das Musik sein soll

I am thinking 1001 albums you need to listen to is not because every album is good, and will be an enriching experience. Maybe some of these albums you need to hear are because they are garbage, and you should be able to recognize that, This was equal parts annoying, painful, and yet boring. For fucks sake.

Electronic music just isn’t my style

Ugh, this just felt like an art rock project. I honestly don't think it was made to be enjoyable listening. A muted attempt at a Metal Machine Music type album? Who knows. But, I won't be back to listen again. Hated the way the drums sounded and the singers voice was super irritating to me as well.

Mouais... la mélodie pour beaucoup de chansons semble être composée de bruits et sons d'instruments assez aléatoires, peu de logique, pas beaucoup de lien entre les instrumentales et la voix (qui d'ailleurs ne varie pas beaucoup, c'est globalement une complainte monotone tout au long de l'album...) I dont get the appeal

non lo riesco a sentì....

Can’t really get into it tbh nr/10

I strongly disliked this album until the very end, then was surprised at the sudden increase in quality. Then I realized that the album has actually ended and Spotify was playing recommended songs from other artists.

Somebody reviewed said: "If my anxiety had a soundtrack it would be this album", and I don't think there's anything else that I would add. Perfect summary.

Certified gold in the UK? I guess that has a different meaning across the pond.

This made me feel a way I've never felt before. In the worst possible way.

Liked the animation on the Rip Video and the rest of the tracks were a bit of folk, rock, and some kind of trippy synthesizer and electric instruments that were disinteresting, disconnected.

Definitely interesting but not for me. The album feels so futuristic and retro.

She can’t sing. Not for me.

The parts where it feels like they're stabbing my eardrums are my favorite.

This is very dark music! Not advised for people who like to be positive or happy. Not foe me

Just not my kind of music or mood at all. Super slow and hard to get through.

I’m behind so I can see Amy’s Back to Black is next and it is very much that distracted boyfriend meme: I want to let go of Portishead’s hand so bad. Seriously though, the ONLY song I wasn’t itching to skip was Deep Water. Didn’t like this album

Haunted house vibes and not in a good way!!! Yikes!!! 😱

zzzzzzz

Dreadful and annoying

Shite

Still no where near the quality of their first album. Dark, dirgey and a chore to listen to

I really, really hated this.

Bit whiney and tuneless...

This is usually the kind of music I love but it just didn't get me... just found it annoying I'm afraid. Don't get it. 1/5 for me.

Not me at all. Couldn't listen to it all.

I suppose there was some concept they were going for, but I didnt enjoy it.

Silence - not into this classic rock sound. By 2007 we’d heard way too much of it. Hunter - really not into this one either. Really uninspired writing imo. Nylon smile - I don’t like the writing here either. The fade into The Rip was cool. We carry on - ok miss ma’am Machine gun - everything about this song is pretentious. This is why my parents hate indie music. Small - I couldn’t finish this one. The asmr was too much for my headphones. If I never listen to this again, it’ll be too soon.

Why is this album something that I should listen to before I die. I wouldn't want to listen to this again if it delayed my death by 10 years.

Not very good

People keep praising Portishead, but I just don't see it yet. 2 Their sound never left the 90s. So disgusted by it, not sure why. Deep water is a banger tho 1

Can’t love the great albums without something to compare them to. This is one of those albums…

Didnt like it

Zo’n moker slecht album. Wtf. Echt 1001album generator.. doe me dit niet nog eens aan

Red hot garbage.

I really hated this album by Portishead. Loved the earlier ones, but could never get into this pile of dung.

not my vibe

Nah

Wow, not my cup of tea.

The first song was intriguing, I wasn't sure if I liked it or not and had to play it back a couple of times. The rest of the album I was 100% sure I didn't like.

Ugh so morose. I feel worse now that before I started listening.

Meh

This is serial killer music. Oh, and one ukelele song. Wtf, was that?! I listened to the whole album, but I didn’t want to. 1.0

not good 0/5

Maybe I'm too stupid to understand this, but it just seems like pointless noise.

Dreadful. I gained no enjoyment from this. Booooooooo

Depressing

"We Carry On" is absolutely horrible - the constant tone that provides nothing but makes you feel like you're in a trance. This song sorta feels like bad electronica, or bad club music. Overall it's definitely not my vibe. It's pretty unenjoyable. It's like shitty video game music - almost like the game sounds are still part of the OST. Some of the songs abruptly stop, which is just dumb.

Dreary hippie music.