Dummy

Feels like Battlestars "All along the watchtower" but with occasional disc scratching thrown in.

Solid background music

I didnt love this either. When I brought the album up on spotify, it also brought up Massive Attack, which I can only take so much of. I like some aspects to this album, but i probably wouldnt listen to this again

Enjoyed

Not bad , not my style

Every songs a bond anthem.

Not really my exact vibe but some of it really fucked Was enjoyable and pretty good background music, beats were funky but didn’t love the vocals

49 Based on this scale: 1 - 0 to 19 2 - 20 to 39 3 - 40 to 59 4 - 60 to 79 5 - 80 to 100 Interesting album. The vocals didn't really move me, but the compositions were pretty good.

An amazing album, one of the best of the 90s

One of the defining albums of trip hop. There's so much going on here. The vintage/film noir sound, the unconventional instruments and recording process, the incorporation of hip hop techniques seemlessly throughout. On top of that, Beth Gibbons' voice is gorgeous. She sounds like someone whose been crushed by the weight of the world and come back slightly jaded but stronger than ever. This is an easy 5 and one of my favorite albums of all time.

Not the usual type of music I listen to, but it was really good. I would totally put this on as calming background music. This reminds me of the Cibo Matto album Viva! La Woman 5/5

Atmospheric. Smooth. Sometimes a little bit haunting, other times somewhat peppier. An album that takes you on a journey. A slow burner with 5-star potential, but it's too chill to feel that connection after just a few listens. One to be listening to again.

I didn't know what to expect, but was surprisingly pleased at what I heard. TBH, the name of the group and the name of the album are such that I would never have bothered to listen. It's not "great", but certainly not bad.

Har ikke så mye å si. Det var bra, men ikke helt min greie. Tror ikke jeg ga dette albumet den oppmerksomheten jeg skulle ha gitt det. Skal uten tvil høre igjen, mulig det er bedre ved flere lyttinger.

Ville veldig gjerne like fette, men tror jeg må høre mer. Vibet ikke helt, av en eller annen grunn.

This album checks off a lot of my favorite music boxes: moody? yep. ethereal? oh yeah. haunting voice? for sure. steady but not overpowering backbeat? give me more! This album has mastered the art of the chill vibe. And yet. It's just not really my thing. I can appreciate it, I'm enjoying listening to it now, but I won't come back to it. A little of it goes a long way. For me it's kinda like Mazzy Star - someone would put it on, I'd think ooh I have to check that out at home, and then I would never follow up because it's just a little too precious.

Cool style

Trippy and a good vibe. I don't know if I'll revisit but I enjoyed the ride.

Good start, but got slow and depressing at the end

Different. Enjoyed it!

Spooky, soft rock, awsome voice👍

The unique thing about this album is the brilliant sonic construction of space. There's a glossy shimmering surface: pulsating synths and ephemeral keyboards, vibrating tremolo/wah guitar lines, squiggly turntables, and a high hat heavy drum part. The bass is often part of this, high up the neck and melodic, but then drops down low for a big hit in tandem with a bass drum, and all of sudden the depths below the surface reveal themselves - they do this over and over and it's exhilarating in a blissed out chill way. The vocals move across these layers, soaring high and dipping low, breathy and intimate then angsty and ethereal. The exemplary album of a weird shortlived fusion electrorock mini-genre - thoroughly of it's time and place but transcends them and still stands out 30 years later.

edge loves them so i tried....

Strangers е хубава. It Could Be Sweet също, Numb е много яка. Приятна музика, спокойна.

Love this album, though I think I like 3 even more

I really liked Roads, Mysterons. Nice and chill. Glory Box is fantastic.

Super chill. Not something i would normally listen to but really good. 3 stars.

This grew on me. I particularly liked It Could Be Sweet, Roads and Glory Box.

Very easy listening Indie Pop, where every track is a Standout.

A bit samey-same throughout, but it’s such a cool and unique sound.

Brilliant. How have I not listened to all the recommendations before! Sexy last song too

Funky chill hip hop. But also sounds like should be in a bond film

A nice album. Felt like an hour of relaxing spy movie soundtrack

One of my all time fave records

A melting pot of genres go into this classic trip-hop album

I liked it! Nice background music.

I dig the lo fi hip hop beats and the scratching. Her voice is also nice but I'm not sure if all of it put together fully jives with my white boy sensibilities

😴

There's some cool loops and beats on this but I found it a bit boring and the vocals were just okay.

Decent

ELECTRIC AND GROOVY 5/5

Incredible, innovative offering. Nothing like it before, or after. Brilliant.

This album cover looks like it was taken straight from The Poughkeepsie Tapes. On top of the synths and electronics of this one, it made for a creepy but cool listen. It felt a little repetitive as it went on, but I enjoyed it.

Is this really our first from Portishead? Maybe I'm getting them confused with Massive Attack. Honestly a lot to love on here, some songs I definitely recognize too. This one's in an interesting genre sweet spot, it's alternative/electronic with just a pinch of hip hop instrumentation or vibe to it. I dig it, very cool album. Favorite tracks: Glory Box, Sour Times, Strangers, Wandering Star. Album art: Blue. More specifically, blue frame flanking a lady in blue who appears to be on stage. Is she the singer? 4/5

spooky vibe :)

Bleh

Very good listen. Smooth, funky, and untraditional.

Sour Times is an undeniable banger. The album in general is stronger on the front half than the back half. The last track does make up for that some, though. Overall really good!

Electronic, ambient, trip hop, I'm not sure what to define this as, a mix of a few genres. It wasn't bad. The songs sounded similar, overall it was a decent album

Pretty cool. It was a lot slower and more chilled than most of the stuff I listen to which was nice. Maybe a little bit alternative though

Classic album, so moody and sensual

5 stars, no notes

"Dummy" is definitely an "album out of time." I feel it could have come out any time in the last 30 years and feel just as unique and fresh. I have a hard time saying with Portishead album is my favorite, but their first definitely has the impact from being the first to introduce their unique blend of elements. Gibbons voice is beautiful and haunting, and the music is a perfectly sparse landscape with a light touch of trip-hop.

stand out track - It's a Fire

I could describe this as the pinnacle of nocturnal records, it's very easy to imagine driving down the interstate at midnight with no other cars in sight. Very beautiful singing on all tracks, instrumentation comes together with it seamlessly most notably on Heads, very incredible which ties together a tight album that you won't even notice repeat with how well it flows.

Dummy by Portishead is and was a compelling listen with layers to the music and an overall mood and ambiance to the album.

Sounds futuristic in 2023

I like this one. Shivering and anxious but abundantly melodic. Slow in places but not unbearably so

This is one of my favorite albums of all time. It has been in my top five albums of all time since I first heard it in 1994. When they arrived, nothing was like them with their heavy beats, unpredictable sounds, and Beth Gibbons ethereal vocals.

Perfect.

Wandering Star slaps. It gives early 90s. It's a bit slow and creepy, but I can listen to it while I work. Fun record sounds.

First time hearing Trip Hop. I didn't even know such a genre existed. When I heard this genre I imagined it would be kinda like mgmt songs for some reason. I didn't t expect this at all and more that a trip it kinda felt like a spiritual journey for some reason. I loved it more than the previous album but not as much as other albums I heard. Nevertheless I have a feeling that this album will grow on me as I listen to it more and more.Soo I give it a moderate 3

Pretty solid. I was drawn in pretty early on and like it the whole way through. I don't think repeat listens would be quite as good, and there wasn't really any single worthy bops, for me.

I love itt. Totally a vibe

Very unique singing, enjoyable and intriguing but you have to be in the mood for something non conventional

The first song starts with a hip hop beat + a theramin.

Weer saaaie triphop, al teveel van geluisterd

Wel goed, niet super

Some really good tracks and some boring ones.

Masterpiece.

Great vibe for a rainy day, heard that one song a million times. 2.5/5

Amazing album! Havent heard it in years and am wondering why I ever stopped.

Better than the first. But still not my kind of music.

Incredible! Found a new band I love and I listened to all of their stuff over the weekend.

Early 90s Hole sound

very enjoyable would listen again

The tight driven production paired with the beautiful mournful melody is just magical. I'm so sad I missed them in the 90's. Will listen again

Somewhat familiar, very chill and cool. Top tracks Sour times Roads Glory box

Some standout tracks, I particularly like glory box. I won’t be coming back to it very frequently though, it just didn’t enthral me

This isn't unlistenable. It is very dull though. This type of music just doesn't move me at all.

Dark & moody

Could be zone out music with a bear, but don't think I'd pull it up intentionally in the future

Mysterons et sour times sont bien Strangers est claquée It could be sweet et wandering star Bof It's a fire est bien! Numb non Road elle est bien en vrai Pedestal rien de spécial Biscuit non Glory Box incroyable ofc Résultat final 3/5 Je donnerais 2.5 si je pouvais. Vraiment carry par Glory Box, le reste va d'ecoutable à nul donc bon

good

When this came up in my feed, I'd heard the name Portishead and figured I'd probably heard their music on the local radio station back when they were popular. Other than that, I'd probably not even thought of them for over 20 years. I recognize some of the songs of this album ("Sour Times" for sure I remember liking when it was on the radio) but never really payed them any attention. Which is a shame. This album is amazing and I now want to hear the rest of their stuff.

Wish I liked this more than I do. Feel like this is a fave album for many people whose music I like. + Sour Times + Strangers + It Could Be Sweet + Glory Box

Meh

idk what i expected portishead to be but consider me impressed

Super lo-fi and relaxing. Very nice female voice. Cool beats. Includes mild scratching. Super nice organ parts, string parts and sax parts.

It was like lady Radiohead. Fun and entertaining.

So cool. Like massive attack but more interesting.

Classic, still

Good album, very dark and eerie soundscapes. It definitely feels like it was made for a horror movie set in the deep south.

Perfection

Gave my Buffy Vampire Slayer Bronze Vibes

4/5

If there's a better trip hop album out there, I haven't come across it. It's got three of my four favorite Portishead songs, "Sour Times," "Numb," and "Glory Box" (the fourth being "Only You"), although I suppose we could make it three out of five, since I prefer the Mudflap Mix version of "Glory Box." And it's not like "Wandering Star," "Pedestal," or "Biscuits" are slouches. No matter how you slice it, this is quality stuff. Gonna round up from 4.5.

Fantastic trip down 90s memory lane. Beth Gibbons' voice is gorgeous & the band essentially created the trip hop genre.

It's a really unique album and sound. Neat that they found a sound that was so tailored to them.

A pretty cool and unique vibe. A understated haunting broody electronic beat with a cool siren of a voice. Sour Times stands pretty far above everything else... the rest maintains the vibe, but everything is samesy enough that the album probably serves best as background music.

I did not enjoy the female vocal on this album.

Not my style at all. Wasn't a particularly huge fan. Besides a few music styles, I can find enjoyment/interest in almost anything, but this is apparently not one of them. Did not enjoy it at all. Most songs either have some impressive vocals or musicians, a fun/entertaining story, a catchy beat, or a combination - this had none of those.

Really good! Easy to listen to. I really enjoy the lead singer’s vocals. I didn’t come away with a favorite song, but there weren’t any that I disliked.

Very chilled album. Sounded a bit repetitive though.

Worth a second listen

lofi indie rock, its alright.

Some kind of chill electronic pop. Nice.

I liked mysterons and glory box the most.the rest, while enjoyable sort of blurred together.

When will the list of 90's UK electronic music be exhausted? I've only got so much trying to understand it left in me.

vrmt chill

-never heard of this band or album which are Always my favorite -SO FAR VERY INTERESTING -i do love the mysterious vibes in sour times -this album is so lovely and mystical i was not expecting this -the vocals are really pretty -THATS WHERE THIS SONG IS FROM? GLORYBOX? -never would have EVER thought thats where this song is from omg -this song is getting a 4 from me mostly because of that last song getting a green check from me -but also because i enjoyed listening to this album

So the trip hop genre is not my thing and this album confirmed that. It wasn’t inherently bad, I actually found myself bobbing along at times. The problem was everything blended together and I would have needed to expend way too much brain power to figure out why people love this album so much. In the words of that lady from that meme, “Ain’t nobody got time for that!”

C Mysterons 3 Sour Times 4 Strangers 2 It Could Be Sweet 2 Wandering Star 2 It's a FIre 4 Numb 2 Roads 3 Pedestal 2 Biscuit 2 Glory Box 3 This was pretty g honestly. As 2's go, this was definitely one of the better ones. Thanks Portishead!

Not a huge fan. And the sounds in the song 'Numb' were the same as my phone vibrate notification which was confusing.

Sublime from start to finish. One of my favourite albums of all time, so I was delighted to see it on the list. Sultry, atmospheric, and Intensely stylish. I fully recommend this.

-Didn’t write a BL- AL: I knew “Roads” and “Glory Box” off of this album but I was amazed that there were some tracks that even superseded how amazing those are, while I know the members of this band reject the term “trip-hop” I think the argument to be made that these guys founded the genre is pretty strong, and although their statement may be a rejection of the subsequent acts which were inspired by them you can’t help but admire how many artists declare portishead and specifically this record as an influence. For good reason too. The sounds this creates is unparalleled to anything else that was around at the time, and in the modern day due to the use of hardware and physical signal chains, the rise of DAWs has made so many of these beautifully nostalgic sounds very hard to recreate. Viva La Analogue Revolution FT: “Mysterons”, “Strangers”, “Roads”, “Pedestal”, “Glory Box” 5/5

Pleasantly surprised although it is reminiscent of walking dark streets at night after suffering some personal tragedy.

If you're of a certain age, then this album was *everywhere*. Perfect to put on the 3 disc CD changer if you'd invited an attractive lady over "for dinner" on a 3rd date.

Smooth.

I liked a little more than half the songs. That's pretty decent stats for most albums. I'd listen to this again.

Good, but I definitely prefer the triphop we heard yesterday

I dig the lowkey electronic hip hop vibes. The vocals are a perfect compliment. I liked it but didn't LOVE it.

not a fan stan

Nah

Not really my taste. Nothing on the album particularly stood out to me, but the music was easy enough to let fade into the background while doing other things.

Say no more, this is a beautiful and melancholic album full of ethereal vocals and absolutely tremendous trip hop beats. An absolute gem.

Excellent album. These are the kind of electronic albums I can get behind and really enjoy. Good songs, and Beth Gibbons has such a lovely voice. A song like Glory Box is such a smooth sultry song.

p726. 1994. 4.5 stars. Strange, surreal and bitter-sweet aural experience, like the soundtrack from a lost David Lynch adaption of Alice in Wonderland. Just when you think it's getting too pretentious it comes up like a stone cold classic like Sour Times or Glory box. And Beth Gibbon's voice is a thing of beauty.

Bristol was already a hotbed for musical greatness by the time Dummy came out in 1994 and when the album's brilliance unfurled fast and rapidly, the city's stature and status amongst music historians was cemented forever. Nearly thirty years later, Dummy stands as Portishead's crowning achievement, a moment in time where everything aligned just right with the most accurate cinematic experiences put to music in quite some time. Perhaps the high point of the dreaded yet appropriate trip-hop term and Portishead can only get more beguiling from here.

Si bien el triple hop es un estilo el álbum me pareció muy repetitivo en los pulsos de las canciones, el estilo, y en sí las canciones sin mucha fuerza todas iguales.

Album is a vibe.Not a lot of bangers expect glorybox.Her vocals are great beats are nice but it’s not a truly great album.Nothing touches me deeply.

This album was totally new to me and I loved it!

is it pronounced "portis head" or "porti-shed"?

One of my favorite triphop releases.

kept feeling like it was about to be interesting, and then it kept being not

Music here is close to being too minimalistic. Fortunately when music seems repetitive vocal can still carry song and mix of both achieves pretty psychodelic atmosphere. It is 4/5 right now but I suspect it can grow on me even more.

I always thought of Portishead as a band that college students would have liked just to sound cool. To me they're just a band who try to be too clever by using as many effects as they can. I got sick of the singers voice and almost identical style for each song. Pretty boring.

a classic, but started to sound too same-y after a short while

Didnt really rate this but i also was passed out for half of it

Fungus music. James Bond music, but infected by The Spores™ (imagine Daniel Craig, but with a giant fungus on his head, ala Toad from Mario). If there's ever a spy movie where the titular spy has to frolic through a mushroom cavern (The Gloomy Grotto), this would be the perfect album for background music. This album's beautiful in a similar way that mold is beautiful. Ever seen a cool piece of mold? This album's a really cool piece of mold. The Terrifying Toadstool of Tokyo shall consume us all. Five outta five.

Filled with dark, spooky beats accompanied by haunting vocals, Dummy is quite an experience and one that offers itself to multiple relistens.

So this is pretty extraordinary Constantly surprising in the soundscape and Beth Gibbons’ voice swings between mournful, sultry and explosive Also a really complete album in that it feels like a suite of songs that all build the mood and atmosphere

stuning!

slow pacing + the singing style makes it an album i’m not super interested in. the instrumentals also don’t really do it for me. i can enjoy some slower songs, but this album isn’t working.

It's fine. For me personally, this album gets let down by the extreme overrepresentation of this genre, because it quite clearly is the best one of all these 90s UK electronica acts. But I'm pretty jaded at this point, and electronica still has a hard ceiling with me.

Legit classic, and super important too for its impact on music history. Trip-hop wouldn’t be trip-hop without Portishead.

Very special album. Beth Gibbon's vocals exceptional. Love this.

Gold. 10/10 The perfect rainy day album.

Her voice is beautiful. And it reminded me of some other music I had forgotten about.

4/5

I thought I'd only know 1 or 2 songs off this album. Turns out I knew about half of the album. Must be a classic then. I like it. Favorite song: roads.

Very cool

I always loved the late night menace of this album. The sampled beats mixed with mysterious female vocals and eerie keyboards evokes the feeling of a modern day film noir. The songs do sound a little similar at times, I couldn’t really name a track specifically, but there are always little nuggets I pick up on every time I listen to this. It may not be a classic album, but it’s definitely a fascinating album.

4.5/5

Felt a bit dated to me. Decent enough but I felt a bit forgettable too. Not sure if it was the vocals, or the sultry sexy spy movie vibes, but I think it's probably influenced so much modern music that I unfairly hear it as jaded and dated. Did have some decent beats, synths and songs. 6/10

Mysthical, dark, hypnotic, atmospheric and beautiful. Glory Box is the perfect ending of this magnificient trip hop album.

4.5 Didn't expect this complexity in this album and I really loved it

Now this one was good. Chill and beautiful I saved multiple songs and the album as a whole. That's says alot. I'll be happy to hear these songs popping up on shuffle. I've always heard I should try these guys but never got around to it. Glad this made me. Worth it all around. I love her voice. 4*

Very sixth form vibes from this album

Not every track is Glory Box, but ai enjoyed it.

Love it

Enjoyable

Amazing

dark, atmospheric, interesting. sounds like you're in a cave. amazing beats.

Great stuff here

I’ve loved this album for decades and I’ve gone back to it many many times over the years.. but this time round tried to listen to it as earnestly as possible to try to recapture the first few times I listened to it and man it still holds up. Beth Gibbon’s voice is ghostly beautiful, the production stunning and the songs consistently wonderful.

Solid

Not for me

good ass album the outro is a top tier song!!! Really ejoyed it

Nice mix of old and new styles, very eclectic

this album is very chill and trippy; it also has good sounddesign and sound effects, and miraculous voice of vocalist.

I really like Portishead - great soundscapes.

Oh wow, another one that I had all but forgotten about. This holds up amazingly well.

Detta album var alldeles för svårt för mig, tror jag missade poängen totalt. Har såklart charmiga inslag som uppmuntrade en till att fortsätta lyssna men räknade i största del låtar tills albumets slut. Hade kunnat vara en soft genomlyssning instrumentalt, men sången gjorde en konstant påmind om vad man lyssnar på. Inte min grej tyvärr. + för stråkar och najs interludes.

I’ve tried a few times over the years to understand what makes this such a beloved record and it just won’t click. In fact, it seems like every time I give this record a shot, I end up liking it less than I did the previous time I heard it. Its a very monotone record to me, with songs that don’t do much to differentiate themselves from each other. This one’s just not for me.

good album cool trip hop I likey

Plagiarised by so many, yet still sounding fresh & magical.

1995 Mercury Prize winner. 'Mysterons' is a bit eerie and ethereal, with seemingly bizarre instrumentation (I cannot lie - it reminds me of Scooby-Doo). Is that a theremin? I like the drums ostinato -- or what sounds like drums going rat...rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat. I couldn't really hear what the vocalist was saying but she has a great voice. The first track is right to my taste; from this, it seems like I will enjoy the rest of the album. 'Sour Times' continues to appeal, with influences that seem to be jazz, blues and even... western? It even reminds me of 'OK Computer' (nevertheless, that album came out a few years after 'Dummy'). Again, the polyphonic melody seems to contain ostinati. 'Strangers' starts with a bizarre noise that hints at bizarre recording, bizarre production or most likely both. I still have very little idea what this singer is actually saying, but that does not really matter. The idea of this being 'trip-hop'/'alternative hip-hop' comes in most prominently so far in this song compared to the previous two. Again, 'It Could be Sweet' sounds like an alternative hip-hop track. This album just keeps getting better! It's similar while remaining wildly different on each track. 'Wandering Star' sounds like it has been taken from the soundtrack to a sci-fi film. The looping drum ostinati continue, as does the singer's beautiful voice. The song seems to have influence from older rock, but remains thoroughly modern. 'Numb' sounds the most like a dance track on the entire album (but it is not). Is that the same vocalist? Cool abrupt ending! 'Roads' is noticeably slower than 'Numb'. The start sounds like a piano ballad, only the piano's part has been recorded and warped to sound nothing like a piano. Probably my favourite so far (or 'Wandering Star'), especially due to the sweeping strings that come in around halfway through! 'Pedestal' -- the voice sounds like it has been edited, unlike on the other tracks where (to me, at least) it sounds completely natural. 'Biscuit' has an excellent intro with brass instruments. Does this sample something? A man sounds like he's singing at one point; the production makes it sound like he's fifty metre away from the other instruments in a smoky bar, making me think that the vocals were not recorded for this song. That 'piano' sound from earlier reappears -- is it some kind of synthesiser? 'Glory Box' is the final song. That passed quickly! Again, it sounds like there is a change of vocalist -- she even sounds like Amy Winehouse -- but I'm pretty sure it's the same one. I like the loop of a crescendo in whatever that instrument is -- a violin? If I had to guess, I would say this was one of the singles released (I was correct!). Overall, the album deserved its acclaim, being a fantastic début -- great instrumentation, great production, great vocals, great genre (sounding like hip-hop at one point and contemporary classical at others).. The slow tempi fit the mood. It's also a nice length. My one complaint is that I could barely tell you five words that were said in any song except the last. 9.5/10.

Un disco que lo exprimí en un tiempo, lo escuchaba siempre para dormir. Es muy bueno pero ahora ya me cansó.

Heavy but with surprisingly uplifing female vocals.

Such a great record. It's always had a timeless feel to me; the mix of synthesizers both modern and classic, and the soulful jazz singing make it seem very anachronistic. I've played this album to death in the last 29 years, but I don't see myself getting tired of it anytime soon.

Still great. I dunno what to say. Nothing else sounds like this, and it's so smooth and so good. 4.5/5

Need to keep these catch-ups brief, but this is the good shit. A-

It’s perfect: the James Bond esc tones and vibe to the whole album is orgasmic. Beth Gibbons sounds like the voice of a god speaking straight to the soul, I love this album so so so much. Ecstatic that I managed to get this sooooo early.

Blah.

Ethereal, almost melancholic, but with the trip hop beats it’s something you can listen to while chilling, driving, cleaning…all the things! I heard Portishead for first time on Big Shiny Tunes, and liked it, and still like it over 20 years later! Listen again: yes Purchase for my collection: yes Favourite Song: Mysterons

En voi sanoa, etteikö kuulostaisi miellyttävältä ja hyvältäkin, mutten vain voi nauttia, kun joka biisi kuulostaa samalta. Ja biisit on sentään eroteltu. Vaatii liikaa vaivaa erottaa selkeät nyanssit

Saatan olla liian hövelillä päällä, ja teoriassa tämän asteinen masistelu on liian optimistista, mutta nämä kappaleet herättävät musiikillisia kysymyksiä. Saattaisinpa jopa palata muutamaan.

I know this is a big album for a lot of people but I never really came across it until now, aside from seeing the album cover in lots of record stores. I didn't dislike this one but it also didn't hit me that hard. I found that it kind of just played in the background without many standout tracks. Standout Tracks: Sour Times, It's Fire, Glory Box

From the opening, cavernous drums and theremin (!) of “Mysteron” to the fading strains of Beth Gibbons’ iconic “give me a reason to love you”, “Dummy” is mysterious, sensual and serene. In 1994, the album cemented Bristol as the home of trip-hop, three years after audiophile Geoff Barrow had formed Portishead with Gibbons (they recorded demos in Neneh Cherry’s kitchen, while Barrow was working on her second album). Thirty years on, “Dummy” stands as the critical pinnacle of the genre. Aside from the odd drum sample here or scratch effect there, to my ears it sounds strikingly contemporary, not dating much at all since 1994. There are some interesting recording and engineering techniques going on here: all made analogue, the band recorded their own music onto vinyl and then manipulated it via tape deck. Records were walked on and scuffed before being sampled, and broken amps were used, all in pursuit of a vintage sound. The sonics themselves are really well done, with a good use of space: arrangements are sparse and minimal, with a nice focus on the low end to allow Gibbon’s hushed, ethereal vocals to float above. However, despite the impressive technical input, many of these songs leave me cold. It’s a good sonic atmosphere but the smoky, noir-spy-fiction feel doesn’t do a lot for me when strung out over a full album. By the time it gets to the extended trumpet solo in “Pedestal”, or the warped vocals of “Biscuit”, it’s all a bit too much of a snooze. Song structures are flat, endless oceans with little variation in dynamics or tempo. I ended up realising the warmer, lusher tones of Goldfrapp’s early work (which I can now appreciate must have been heavily influenced by Portishead) appeal to me more. This isn’t to say that I don’t enjoy any of “Dummy”: beyond the undisputed triumph of “Glory Box”, I enjoy “Strangers” for its colossal drums and creeping dread. And “It’s A Fire” is an unsung gem, playing out like a moment of clarity in all the fog and haze. Direct and sincere, it keeps a sweet melody at its heart without revealing all its secrets. I would have appreciated a little more of this. “Dummy” deserves its place in music history, but for me it’s more a place to visit once in a while and admire than set up roots in forever.

Nunca me gusto Portishead me parece bastante soso.

Boring, I'm just not into trip hop

Pretty niche genre of not quite pop, not quite rock, not quite electronic, even not quite hip hop in some places. I liked it, but wasn’t crazy about it.

enjoyed this one quite a bit, very easy listening. favorite song: roads

es como escuchar los discos de tu abuela a través de un mediocre barniz noventero. nada original. se deja escuchar mientras trabajas.

The powerful voice of Beth Gibbons anchors this essential triphop album. Downbeat, but not in a way that leaves one drained.

Sounds like a Bond soundtrack, works as a background music

A regular before this came up in my project. I like the beats and the indecipherable lyrics because it doesn’t disrupt me when I’m working and is soothing. As far as a trip hop album goes, I think this is what I consider trip hop to be. I don’t know if I would be able to tell you any other albums. Groovy. Ethereal. Seductive. 5 of 5.

4/5 Best: Roads Worst: Biscuit

Lyssnat mycket på denna platta i mina dar. Finns inte en dålig låt. Kan bara betyda en sak, det förstår ni va?

Some quintessential chill hits.

Love it

Hold pretty solid

A masterpiece. Beats that the greats could rap on. Hard, smooth and sensual at the same time. Beth gibbons flawlessly sings over the glooming instrumentals. One of the best albums of all time.

"Pedestal" and "Glory Box" were my favorites

Trippier than I anticipated. Pleasantly low-key and downbeat

Taki przyjemny electro-house? trip-pop? Dobre

PERFECTION

Just classic

Super stimme

Weet dat 't goed is, maar nooit helemaal mijn ding geweest. Toch 3 sterren uiteraard.

Zelfs 2 keer geluisterd. Zo goed vond ik het.

Fijn fijn fijn!

Waar is machine gun als je erop zit te wachten?

There's a couple good tracks on here but you really have to be in a certain mood for Portishead

I have a soft spot for this trip-hop style, esp this early-ish stuff. Esthero was a favourite of mine after seeing her live at a festival-style show - I def see the influence here.

The sound of share houses still sounds pretty great.

Nice background stuff.

I looked the album up and it seems to be revered so I get that people like it but for me the girl's voice is off key I couldn’t enjoy it, I think maybe someone else should’ve sang the songs, or vocal lessons should've been demanded.

Rock solid album, one of the best ever

Love the production

There a very few albums that sound exactly like the year they were released. 1994 sounded like Portishead. Every UK TV theme, every advert, every late night radio jingle sounded like Sour Times. An incredible album; it changed the way the 90’s sounded more so than the ones you think did.

An unusual mix of soulful with dark and moody. Well crafted songs with a restrained use of scratching and sampling, which gives the songs a grittiness without making them feel heavy handed. Not every song lands, but when the get it right, it's splendid. Fave Songs: Sour Times, Glory Box, Mysterons, It Could Be Sweet, Roads, Wandering Star

me gusta

Feels very Mazzy Star inspired, I really like this one. Some of these songs have come up in random artist/song radios but I wasn't actually familiar with the artist itself and I'm glad I am now!

Un dels del podi del trip hop. I segurament és la banda que millor va saber definir el génere, i totes les seves particularitats. Sobretot amb aquest disc

I liked it, but the genre doesn't really do much for me.

Great album - by a really underrated band!

Interesting musical concepts but lack of variety had me bored by the end

Everyone can agree on this album. It's perfectly average.

This is refreshing after Steely Dan yesterday. I'm gonna feel bad if I give this the same score, though. I should have rated yesterday's album lower. This is a subwoofer album, that's for sure. The bottom line: Portishead's "Dummy" is a slick rainy night, foggy and crisp all at once.

This was not good. Not the worst but not good. Barely a 2

Bad

didn't think this would be my cup of tea but I found myself liking it quite a bit, would come back to this for chill out/melancholy tunes. Songs are different enough from each other to stand apart, yet the album still feels cohesive as a whole. 3.5/5 rounded up to 4 Faves: Glory Box, Roads, Wandering Star

90's trip-hop that's worth a close listen - took me a few tunes to start hearing the complexity in the writing and production. In the end, not enough to keep me interested or coming back.

Pretty good chillout thingy

I listened to this while working on an essay, and it was impressively good study music. It's calm, slightly creepy, and very much the same from song to song. I didn't even notice when one song flowed into the next.

Prima triphop. Leuk genre overigens. Ik vraag me af of er in 1998 ook nog goede triphop gereleased is. Volgens deze lijst niet namelijk.

meh. couple things were ok. but kinda droning on

Not an album for a sunny day.

C'était quand même correct, l'instrumentation m'envoyais des petits vibe de Gorillaz par moment.

C’est pas pour moi mais ça m’a permis d’avoir une introspection sur mon opinion de la musique moderne, faque je lui donne un point bonus EDIT DU FUTUR: C'EST VRAIMENT PAS SI PIRE QUE ÇA FINALEMENT, PEUT-ÊTRE QUE J'ÉVOLUE ENFIN

L’instru est vraiment cool. Pour l’instant c’est juste très cool, j’ai du fun à écouter les chansons. J’ai l’impression que la voie de la chanteuse match pas assez avec le style du groupe. Genre avec spellbound c’était la combinaison parfaite, mais ici leur combinaison marche moins. Par contre c’est quand même trop de la bombe.

I don't know why this album was popular. I was bored with each song I'm different ways and was falling asleep for parts of it.

not bad just not what i would listen to

a year ago, I never heard of them, now I'm a fan. This is a great trip hop album. Standouts: Sour Times, Mysterons, Numb, Strangers, Glory Box 4/5

This album is definitely a candidate for best album of the 90s. Portishead’s debut is a dark trip hop masterpiece that explores aspects of ambient and experimental music. While the music is expansive and exploratory, the vocals are haunting. Beth Gibbons is one of the standout vocalists of the era.

Rating: 7/10 Best songs: Wandering star, Numb, Pedestal, Glory box

Batter than what I was expecting. I thought this was going to be somewhat painful to listen to but I didn't mind it.

Agobiante... opresivo... Un 3.

I have to admit I haven't listened to this whole album before. It's bloody good.

I was raised in Portishead, which means even if this album wasn't as good as it is, it would still get *five* big ones. A rock and hip hop fusion with blues and dub mixed in for good measure. That combination could get messy but Portishead give us a tour de force of moody and groovy melodies. On top of that, Beth's voice is something else. Once saw a couple of the band members perform at Portishead's town carnival when I was eight, didn't understand it at the time but knew something was different about them.

Yes, it's got some funky, weird, hip hop sounds, but it's just too slow for me. I could drift off to sleep, albeit I accept it would a a deep sleep dreaming of candyswirls and popsicles. There's also been too much of this genre recently, and by too much I mean one album

Beth Gibbons featured on a Kendrick Lamar song… and that’s where my knowledge of Portishead ends. This album was a nice surprise. Haunting vocals over atmospheric hip-hop instrumentals was a combination I didn’t know I yearned for. Reeks of James Bond theme songs throughout.

2e Portishead in 4 dagen, maar deze is een stuk beter dan die eerdere. Het is een beetje hiphop, triphop in tempo, maar dan op een Radiohead achtige manier. Echt heel bijzonder en daardoor ook wel intrigerend. Het heeft me zeker positief verrast dit. 4 sterren.

Maybe the most iconic Trip-Hop release of all-time. One of the standout features of this album is the haunting vocals of lead singer Beth Gibbons. Her voice is melancholic and emotive, perfectly complementing the dark and brooding musical arrangements. Songs like "Glory Box" and "Roads" showcase Gibbons' powerful and haunting voice, making for a truly unforgettable listening experience. The album's production is also noteworthy, with its use of sampling and electronic instrumentation. The songs are built around looped samples, creating a hypnotic and mesmerizing effect. Tracks like "Sour Times" and "Strangers" showcase the group's innovative use of sampling, with sounds ranging from old jazz records to hip-hop beats. Close to a 5 this one, but falls just short in my opinion.

This is a great debut from Portishead, there are so many samplings, loops and techniques such as skating with and walking on vinyl to give it a distorted sound, along with playing through a broken amplifier, gives this album such a unique sound. All without the use of digital recordings. With the trip hop sound makes me feel that I'm walking through a laneway on a gloomy rainy evening, coupled with just the sound of your footsteps and the odd passing car. Best: Glory Box Worst: Biscuit 3.5 stars

Review history indicates I really hated the prior offering from this band. This didn't rub me the wrong way nearly so much, thoughbits a style I could simply do without.

Honest review would be 3.5 stars. Reminds me of Bjork a lot

5 stars. What else? It's a timelessly beautiful piece of work.

Great in parts.

Good but not great.

Really influential. I can literally hear the Glitch Mob samples and inspiration from this one, but it’s not the greatest sound.

Chill, sleepy at times

Highlights: "Mysterons," "It Could Be Sweet" This was contributing to a very fresh subgenre, maybe piggybacking Massive Attack's Protection, but while it's hard to find precedent (ATCQ, likely), it's easy to see influence. I wouldn't be surprised if this spurred Björk's development on 1995's Post, Beck's move away from Primus and Ween sounds to what we hear on Odelay, and any number of mournful '90s alt hits glazed over a breakbeat -- Dido, Sarah McLachlan, Paula Cole, etc. For all that, though, its striking impression is already spread very thin by 50 minutes. The dusky, plaintive brooding gets monotonous quickly. So at least it's consistent?

Altijd leuk, van die aspirant-spionnenmuziek op een loungebedje. Relaxt, sfeervol, doet u mij maar meer van dit.

Portishead laat op Dummy een eigen geluid te horen. De emoties die in de zang en de basale muziek doorklinken zijn onderdeel van het verschil. Zonder de elektronische elementen zou je er bijna in verdrinken. Maar de veelal rustige beats brengen het perfect in balans. Dat creëert een plaat die de moeite waard is om met volle aandacht te beluisteren, maar ook prima werkt op de achtergrond. De zang schuurt af en toe een heel klein beetje. De instrumenten lijken soms gesampeld te zijn vanaf een plaat met een klein krasje en her en der wordt een kraakje toegevoegd. Allemaal net genoeg om opgemerkt te worden; nergens wordt het geforceerd. De zang kent veel kleine variaties binnen een nummer, maar ook op dit punt wordt er zelden geforceerd. Beth krijgt het zelfs voor elkaar om ingetogen uit te halen. Het gemiddelde niveau van de nummers is hoog. Maar verspreid over het album springen daar een aantal nummers nog eens bovenuit. Met moeite beperk ik mij tot drie: Sour Times, Numb en Glory Box.

Sfeervolle triphop, waarbij ik zelfs nog meer tracks (her)kende dan ik had gedacht. En wat is het dan lekker dat het beste nummer op het laatst pas komt.

Jedan od najdražih albuma

It had a really nice vibe, quite an interesting type of music

This is, without question, a sublime debut album. But so very, very sad. These are avant garde ambient moonscapes of a ferociously experimental nature. In other words, seriously spooky shit. A masterpiece, sad, jazzy and experimental soundscapes. One of the best triphop albums made. Period.

Beautiful, cool, minimal.

5/5, easy.

I realized today I don't know most of the songs off of this album except for Glory Box and I think one other. I like this one a lot too! I think both yesterday's album and today's were very different but I'd gladly listen to either again.

favs: Biscuit, Glory Box, Sour Times, Sour Sour Times (a bonus track on the Canadian CD so it counts!) least fav: Wandering Star

Moody spy music that makes you think about dancing while chilling at the house. Pretty perfect music, all said and done.

My initial thoughts are, "It's Dummy by Portishead, of course it's an automatic five, are you crazy?" But then I started to think a little (and I haven't pressed play yet). Outside the singles 'Numb', 'Sour Times' and of course 'Glory Box' is anything about the rest of the album memorable at all? Are the good songs that good, that it doesn't even matter about the rest? We shall see... 'Mysterons' is such a good opening song, sets the mood immediately. Not much to add about 'Sour Times', great song. I love the throbbing, pulsating drive of the bass and the trippy backwards snare in this song, 'Strangers' is definitely one to remember. 'It Could Be Sweet' is the first song I'm not a fan of on the album, the beat in particular feels off with the rest of the instrumentation and sampling on the track. It's not bad by any means, but doesn't do it for me. 'Wandering Star' picks things back up with a great beat and bass line and some good turntable work. Nice organy opening, I don't really remember this song at all. Hmm, a bit nondescript this one sadly, and I'm rather cold for 'It's On Fire'. Dark and brooding and what a fucking bass line, 'Numb' is fantastic. The processing on the drums creates a great atmosphere too. This song is like heartbreak and despair and sadness distilled and compressed into a single outpouring of grief. The guitar swells and then the orchestra are just perfect. 'Roads' is a fantastic song, probably my favourite on the album. Another great bass line in 'Pedestal' and trumpet solo! (Sounds like a trumpet to me!) The organ sounds good in 'Biscuit' and some more sub-bass is always good. The scratching and slowed down vocal sample sounds great with the organ over the top. 'Glory Box' is a very good song. Debut album, hugely influential, the best song wasn't even a single. 5 / 5 stars.

Dark, haunting, groovy and incredibly cool and classy. I don't feel it's aged, although many others disagree with me! Just enough time for Beth's vocal style to stay the good sign of irritating. Excellent guitar sound.

Answers the age old question of, what does synth wave sound like if performed by a witch in medieval times?

Listened through the majority of the album. Will check out their other songs. Definitely made me want to dable more in the trip hop genre.

Dummy by Portishead is dangerously close to be background music with its mellow tempo but it manages to keep my interested by using clever beat shifts, use of sampling and scratching. It's similar in style to Massive Attack and DJ Shadow. The variation and the distinction between the songs could be better though. This is an album I wouldn't mind picking up at the record store.

Garbage

Fajne

Very loud and tense whilst also being quite chill and laid back. Very excellent vocals. Very good use of silence/instruments dropping in and out. The synthesisers all sound very simple, however this very "bleak" landscape does a lot of favours to the duality of the sound that they're going for. Some beautiful use of strings too.

4.5/5

Virkelig godt album

Beautifully put together album, good to work to

Nice introduction to “trip hop” genre. I loved this one. Sour Times and Glory Box are the best songs on the album.

Too many disonant notes.

The innovative sound of Portishead still sounds innovative, fresh and original after all these years! As does the singer’s voice. I wish more bands would break new grounds the way Portishead did.

очень круто и расслабляюще но четверочка

Skön groove med den rätt unika instrumentella delen av mixen. Ganska moody.

10/10

I am in the vast minority on this one. Not a fan of trip-hop, so perhaps ignore me. It's droning and boring to me.

To me, Beth Gibbons is not the hypnotic sex goddess others hear. Don’t remember the music being so rich in drums and scratches, nice stuff but I’ll take prime Tricky over it any day.

Spooky. I don’t like it.

Sad but good.

Meiner Absicht nicht so gut wie die zweite. Wandering Star ist natürlich GROSS. Sonst als Erstling eher nur so lala.

Deze muziek heeft wel wat geinige geluidjes, maar is ook weer erg zweverig. Niet mijn ding. **

Brilliant album. Love almost everything about it. Put Bristol on the music map, for sure.