Reviews (page 14 of 15)
The whole album is a vibe best enjoyed after dark. It’s lonely and yet makes me feel like I am not alone. It’s hauntingly, achingly ethereal but also tinged with a sour regret you can’t quite stop thinking about. Glory Box is a standout for me but the whole album is perfection.
This album, or really Portishead, is one of a kind. I have never heard anything else like them. The bands that are listed as being similar and/or adjacent don’t come close to them. And this album started it all. I don’t know what I like better, the music or Beth Gibbons’s vocals. Mysterons is of particular musical note between the militaristic drumming and the scratching. Her voice is ethereal. This album reminds me of Twin Peaks: The Return. TPTR had scenes throughout at The Roadhouse, a bar on the southern side of town where bands often play. As is the case with everything in Twin Falls, Washington, mystery and oddity are the backdrop to the goings on at The Roadhouse. The album would fit right in as a performance at The Roadhouse…in a great way. Side bar alert!!! I discovered Chromatics through their performance of Shadow at the end of Part 2. Great song, check out the video https://youtu.be/IGUboLZx3Tk. Check out Chromatics too (Kill For Love is a great place to start). You know who else performed in TPTR? Of course not, but I’ll tell you anyway. I didn’t realize they were on the show until today. I found them separately after watching the show. The answer? Au Revoir Simone, also a great listen (Move In Spectrums is a great place to start).
Finalmente estou em condições de aproveitar a potência da sonoridade das camadas do vocal, samples e guitarras.
Beth Gibbons is one of the most iconic vocalists in music. Powerful and spooky, chilling the audience to the spine with her range and intensity. All of Portishead's albums are fantastic with unique and memorable tracks that blow you away, but their debut has their most recognizable tracks, including "Roads" and "Glory Box". All tracks are remarkable, characterized by perfect mixing, a creative use of samples, and production techniques that contribute to a complete and coherent listen. We start off with the industrial synth-heavy "Mysterons" that sounds like a stroll through a haunted factory. "Sour Times" is a favorite, with a catchy chorus, strong R&B influences and incorporating 70s spy music samples (resembling surf rock), feeling intense and disarrayed. "Strangers" sounds like vocal jazz layered underneath heavy industrial drones and filters. There are so many production techniques and introduced samples that are added exactly once or twice (like the Disney-sounding classical sample or that chamber echo) that add to the completeness of diversity of the song. There's so much happening in each song that it encourages replayability and makes each second valuable. "Biscuit" is another samplepaedic song, with a million things to focus on, from the slowed down (almost vaporwave-esque) vocal sample, the staticy background, the record scratches, the lifeless hollow drum beats, and what sounds like a distant parade recording at the end. "It Could Be Sweet" is one of the most aesthetically pleasing songs. I love the cool vibe of the samples, and it has possibly my favorite of Gibbons's soothing vocals. "It's a Fire" also provides a nice break with its gospel-sounding organ and relaxing vocals. "Wandering Star" moves us back into the gothic vibes, surely an inspiration to the likes of Evanescence. This is the first song I've heard where record scratches actually contribute to the spooky imagery rather than for its own sake. Absolutely love the instrumental finish, especially that closing organ sample. What I love about the album is that they rarely reuse their tricks. A similar feeling song, "Numb" is instead characterized by its eery vibrato and frantic lyrics. Meanwhile, "Roads" is somber and nostalgic. I find "Glory Box" to be a fitting closer, with a memorable and enticing hook sending shivers, and a catchy and powerful chorus. Her vocals are strong and sexy here. There's so much I love about this song. The hazy bluesy guitar gets its solo but continues despite Gibbons singing again, then disappears without warning only to start up randomly again later, fizzling in and out, screeching one more time with Gibbons's echo. The next 20 seconds absolutely blow me away, abruptly shifting to a super psychedelic and unsettling segment of abrasive beats and echoey vocals, before moving back to the core song and ending the album. I so wish it could just go on longer.
Really enjoyed
Not my thing, listened but didn't pay attention. Well made, good sounding however.
meh
vibey and interesting
Very slow very meh. Everything sounded fine until she started singing-“D.R.”
Some amazing songs but overall the sound isn’t really what a typically enjoy. I can see why it’s considered a classic in the genre, though. Standout tracks: Strangers, Wandering Star, It’s a Fire
Pretty great album for a rainy day. Pretty unique for its time.
It’s like the gorillaz mixed with radio head
I know this album well. It's majestic.
Excellent album.
Still a beautiful album, a really nice musical moment and movement and well worth a listen.
4/5. A great collection of tracks but some sound too similar to feel like they stand out.
Decent, a bit weird in a direction I enjoy.
Stand-outs: "It's A Fire," "Roads"
Spy movie sad ambience. It was cool for one song, and it dragged for an album.
One of the 50 most beautiful albums ever and absolutely the best trip hop record of all time (this is not an opinion). Such a wonderful experience!
Foggy night in UK
#1 track sets the stage, bem nice the whole thing bateu
Not sure what to make of this one
Background music 2.5
From Mary Oliver: "(In my sleep I dreamed this poem) Someone I loved once gave me a box full of darkness. It took me years to understand that this, too, was a gift."
trip hop >>> house
This is one of those albums that I think is good, but I also don't think is as good as its reputation. I feel like they rely on Beth Gibbon's voice for a lot, and her voice is excellent, so that makes the album work. However, because they rely on her voice so much, it feels like they don't bother to make the music all that interesting a lot of time. This just feels like it could be a lot better if they brought more to it in terms of musical complexity. Compared to the other albums on the Mt. Rushmore of Trip-Hop, this feels like a step behind albums like Mezzanine and Endtroducing. 4/5
Love this album. Such a great sound and atmosphere to this album up there with my all time’s favourites. Absolute masterpiece up there with the greatest debut albums.
it was okay, will probably not revisit again, very haunting vocals
First album... interesting but kind of boring track 1 - 3/10 (not a good intro) track 2 - 6/10 (cool) track 3 - 3.5/10 (the intro of it was really good - might even sample it at some point, but it started to get weird after that; not a fan) track 4 - 3/10 (the production is so weak holy... vocals are ok) track 5 - 4/10 (nothing stands out in the album so far; synth in the outro is beautiful. sad it's only right at the end) track 6 - 3.5/10 (meh) track 7 - 2/10 (I hate these beats) track 8 - 6.5/10 (finally! this could go into the playlist only if the vocals weren't so dry) track 9 - 5/10 (not bad) track 10 - 2/10 track 11 - 4.5/10 (nothing special about the outro but it's listenable) total - 43/110 = 3.91/10
Trip Hop, beautiful female voice
This shit slap song
This album took a while to grow on me honestly, but now I can't imagine why there was any reason I had mixed feelings. It's a bit depressing, but those beats just freakin' KICK. And great lyrics. Yup, love this one.
Second song had James Bond vibes. Very chill and old school electronica. I could vibe with this music for hours.
Good for some quintessential flowy/electronic music that feels like belongs in a 90s movie soundtrack. Ultimately though I was wavering between 2 and 3 stars because while it wasn't bad, it very easily just fell into the background and was super similar song to song so I got bored about halfway through. Nothing wow-ed me so I'm rounding down
This was pretty middle-of-the-road for me. It wasn't bad but I'm not sure what situation I'd want to listen to this album again. There were parts that I really enjoyed the feel but as a whole, it was just kinda there.
This was tolerable to a point but I’d never listen to it again. This album tries to have that Indie beat vibe but suffers from repetitive melodies and a mediocre at best singer.
Sounded like I was listening to a chill James Bond soundtrack. Really enjoyed the lofi nature of this, definitely had a lot of "Massive Attack" influence.
5/10
Dark and brooding
Relaxte jams
Sublime. Must check out Beak> properly.
A moody and atmospheric delight. I found the Bristol-born, trio-hop scene fairly late in the day and hadn’t actually listen to this as a full LP in one sitting. It achieves a rare thing of being able to l ignite some nostalgia wallowing and encapsulate the sound of when it was realised, whilst also sounding timeless and not out of place with the current vibe of 2022.
An album i've listened to plenty before now, it's a goody. Listening again, I find 'it's a fire' the most affecting track, previously overlooked it for the other bigger hits.
One of the best albums of the 90s for me. Relentlessly brilliant track after track and sounds like it could have been made now.
Wonderfully evocative album. Reminiscent of after club "back to mine's" in the early to mid 90s. Absolute classic.
This album holds a special place in my heart, and I'm immediately transported back to 16 years old and all the yearning and heart aches of that time. I could basically list the whole album as standout tracks, but I'm going to restrain myself: - Mysterons - Glory Box - Roads Honestly I don't think this sounds aged at all...or maybe it because Bristol bands are reigniting these sounds at the moment as part of the 90's and Y2K revival. either way, I'M HERE FOR IT.
I love it. This album is a Gem!!
Unexpectedly, this album holds a special place in my heart after all these years. They effectively came out of nowhere for me. I didn't have a lot of influencer friends or radio hyping them up before this dropped. I never saw Portishead live. I don't think I even bought this record until 10 years after hearing it. And yet, this album was such a soundtrack to our college lives at the time. Even for someone like myself who, then, identified as a quasi straight-edged punk and post-punk enthusiast drenched in Northwest Grunge and Washington DC DIY. DUMMY takes me places now that are more than the sum of its parts and greater than what's on wax, and yet this recording is cognitively sticky and resilient. Instant feels from within the source as well as all this external evocation.
Ethereal, driving, brilliant, haunting.
so concentrated but also a total bummer
Blue masterpiece.
Great album. Probably my favourite from this genre (which isn't exactly my forte). Just really solid overall, great vibes all around. It's groovy, it's melodic, it's simply very good.
Glory Box is still a legend! The rest of the album has its specific mystical atmosphere. By listening to Dummy from alpha to omega it clearly reveales some lengths.
Amazing album, absolutely love it. For me, one of the very best so far out of these 1001. Even though I usually dislike both hip-hop and the majority of electronica, mellow trip-hop just hits a lot of my sweet spots. This album is fantastic at everything it sets out to be. It's mellow, dark, sad, interesting, beautiful, adventurous, relaxing, touching, stimulating and more. Roads in particular has long been on my 'liked songs' list.
Stórkostleg plata, mikil mystique, seiðandi rödd, nostalgía.
Banger
The album that got me into Trip Hop. A sublime, complex, chilled out collection of atmospheric songs with haunting vocals Stand out tracks - Mysterons - Sour Times - Roads - Glory Box
massa os fadinho
HL: “Sour Times”, “Roads”, “It Could Be Sweet” October 30, 2022
Great time. Loved the mood, a high four. A great record.
Love this album. Sultry, moody music that makes me feel like I’m sitting in the corner booth in a darkened bar with live music playing and dim lighting reflecting off of dark red curtains hung around the bar.
Too simple. Would be cool to listen to it as background music
Doesnt sound bad but its not something ill consider listning to again
Electrónica.
- Heard this album once before, years ago - Grown on me a lot - Not a genre I've heard much of but still really good - Fav songs: Glory Box, Sour Times, Wandering Star
Ah, more bog UK techno. You know those Sunday mid-mornings after a night on the ecstasy, when you start to get drowsy but you're also still in party mode? That's when bullshit like Portishead gets put on. It's not good, you're just coming down. 2/5.
The album sounds original. probably because it is.
Not bad, but yet another 90s electronic-type album. Not sure why there are so many
Not familiar with this group or album, so going in completely blind. Initial thoughts, this was from 1994? It was ahead of its time. First track is kind of equal parts creepy and chill. Really good mastering! I like the fuzz. What genre is this? Danger Mouse comes to mind. Track three gives me Zombie Girl. There's a big depth to the sound, I think Michael may really like this album. There was a track like Portishead on Linkin Park's Hybrid Theory. Ooooh and Gorillaz, Gravity. And yeah, I HAVE heard this last one, Glory Box, it was in The Craft.
This album was a breath of fresh air when it came out
Put this on and hardly noticed or paid attention to it. Trip-hop I just think is not for me. I know this is supposedly to be the best of the era/genre and it seems pleasant enough.
It’s different, and some good tunes, but wears a bit thin after a while
They hit something pretty special with this one.
Strong
It's ok I guess. 3*
Great, especially when Gibbons does her weird Bjork impression
One of THE great albums. Loved it at the time and I still love it now,. The voice, the sparse arrangements, the mood. There is a lot in here, from the heavy dub of Numb to the lounge stylings of It Could Be Sweet, but it is all so well put together, and no element overstays its welcome to keep the listener on their toes. Wonderful.
I'm not sure which I love the most here - the sparse, atmospheric beats, or Beth Gibbons' haunted vocals. I could listen t both in isolation; put them together and you have a really, really great album. It sounds like autumn with the swirling moog building up in the background. One of the great debuts.
Oh, este disco es una maravilla. 10/10. 5 estrellas. Un 7.
very good sound, hidden gem that I enjoyed.
Classic, one of my favorites
Over het algemeen goed, met een paar uitschieters. Bij vlagen lekkere rock/grunge achtig, maar wel traag. 4*
Brilliant from start to finish. What an incredible atmosphere the band creates…
I really liked this album, experimental at the time it was released.
Feels like a fever dream.
Great mellow album
Brilliantl
Top notch
Great album. Perfect from beginning to end.
How have I never heard this before? It's great. Very atmospheric. I really like it.
Already listened to this lol
issa mastahpeez
Seminal trip hop album. Bought it not really knowing what to expect and what a pleasant surprise it was!
Wanted to give it a 2.5. I liked it but it was slow and kinda not exciting. VERY catchy beats and rhythms and singing. Great songs and they were all unqiue, not some overplayed simular elements or nuthin. It was cool and I always respect the artists that start new trends or that popularize new ideas, just didnt completly catch me like I wanted it to but ALMOST
I’m a fan of this album anyway but this is the first time I’ve really thought about why that might be. I’m in my early days with this challenge but I’m already recognising that I like music that makes me feel something. Dummy makes me feel thoughtful and introspective, it’s like an atmosphere that takes me somewhere mentally and I adore it for that
There are a lot of bits here that I should like, but this album doesn't work for me. Much of it struck me as pretentious (particularly the first half) - like someone trying to craft an album specifically to make it on "you've got to hear these albums" list while critics all nod sagely and say how excitingly experimental it is. I made it through, but unlikely to ever play it again.
Like it. Always liked Portishead
Cheating a bit by saying I have this one, as what I own is actually the Live at Rosemount (?) recording. One of the few live albums that I love, and might even be better than this one, from what I hear. Regardless, phenomenal vocal performance and hypnotic bass beats make Portishead un incontournable du movement and an instant time machine to adolescence. I HAVE THIS ON VINYL!
notes - half secret agent, half alien vibes - big influence on bands like radiohead - used to have this in my library years ago but unliked it bc i wasnt going back to it - definitely “mood music” fav - sour times - cool hammered instrument, great chorus melody - least fav - strangers - repeating dial-tone type sound that got grating by the end, less harmonically interesting than other songs 3.5/5
I liked a few of the tracks but could not get behind the whole project. Going to have to give it another listen.
Loved it, great to hear it again
Very smooth very soothing. Can be a bit repetitive though. It's slightly below a 4 but I'll round up.
Pretty good it's got a very unique sound which is cool. Strong vibe and feeling to the album. Some really cool moments but it can also get a bit repetitive and boring at points. Overall still a very competently done album with some particularly strong moments.
Slow, downbeat. Pretty good for sitting back and chilling.
Kinda oldish music, seems to have a cool dready vibe too, perfect for doing anything
Cool.
Not my type
Calm and trippy one, not my favorite type of music but still enjoyed it
Kinda a crazy listen with headphones Great production Definitely took a couple listens to grow on me Kinda like Throbbing Gristle but everything is a little nicer
Very dark and brooding album. Somehow super relaxing too. Was not expecting a girl singer on this one. Although some of the songs are pretty long and go a little out there, I think the majority of this album is pretty damn good. 7/10
Dark and trippy
Very good
meh, it's okay.
Listening to and reading about this album taught me that I was a fan of trip hop without even knowing what trip hop was. I already knew quite a few of the tracks, and after I got through all of them, Spotify's album radio was like 75% songs I know and love. Needless to say, this was a good experience.
Wel zin in paddo's gekregen, maar geen fan geworden
Melangolisch, rustig Heb de helft geluusterd Niet voor mij
Well it's just lovely. Unlike everything since, it has a grounding in old soul melody, which gives everything a wintry pop feel. It's gorgeous. Don't get me wrong, it's still very depressing in all the best ways. It's just misery you can sing along to - something which, despite two more great albums, they never achieve again. The best tracks are the obvious ones (Numb, Sour Times, Glory Box) but everything in between is solid too. Lovely broken beats, swooping orchestras and gorgeous vocals.
3/5 I really enjoyed the first few songs on the album, it got off to a great start and then felt like it didn’t really go anywhere after that.
creepy...
good for background music while working
Not my cup of tea
Listened before: no Enjoyed: yes Listened: 4 times Excellent vibe, introduced me to a whole world of trip hop I look forward to delving in to
4.25
Some good songs such as It Could Be Sweet and Glory Box. Others were a bit depressing and dark. Not the best but some good songs
Listened before: no Enjoyed: yes Listened: 4 times Excellent vibe, introduced me to a whole world of trip hop I look forward to delving in to
Very spacey and haunting synths with soft vocals
Chill, trip hoppy
Sleepy navel gaze. “Sour Times” and “It could be sweet” were ok.
Cooler atmospheric electronic than I was expecting. Probably a 2.5/3 musically (a few standout tracks like Sour Times, Wandering Star, and Roads) but feels like a 3.5 because of the interesting style and influence. Definitely something I wouldn't have found without the list.
Weird in the best way. I was expecting nothing less.
Awesome album, perfect late-night listening!
Kinda boring but not terrible. - a metalhead
Good album really different from the usual music I listen to. A few iconic songs, "Roads" is underrated. 7/10, will be listening to again.
Sure? Farmhouse, work annoying, lease stress.
Now we're cooking. Quite simply one of the greatest albums ever produced. Transports you to another world and leaves you there. Totally unique when it was released (was it really that long ago?) I have never stopped playing this album. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Fine. I mean, I could chill back and listen to this but I’m not going to _listen_ to it.
Never heard of the performer before... Really enjoyed and would listen to again
Cities have this ever present dull roar. After having always lived in the country or the suburbs, I remember my first few nights living in an apartment in the city. Getting used to that roar took some time. The city is a living thing. So many people and vehicles and things going on. And yet among it all its easy to feel isolated and alienated from it. People people everywhere, but no one to connect to. This album has an ever present bass and sub bass component. That dull roar*. On top of it, the mid range and high end are very sparsely populated. Anything that lives in that space is delicate and vulnerable. The vocalist isn't singing along to chords. There is no accompaniment. The vocals stand completely on their own. And it really sells the feeling of loneliness, the kind of loneliness borne of a desire to make new connections, and the creeping doubt as to whether that's even possible anymore. The sense conveyed is that I used to have relationships, and I used to understand my surroundings, and it used to be so easy to make friends. The nostalgic elements to the music sell this too. The dirty vinyl sounds, the cimbalom, the theramin, all evoke the past. While the delicate vocals represent the present. Why can't it be easy like it used to be? I'm surrounded by all these people. Is something wrong with me? Or is something wrong with everything else? How can it feel, this wrong From this moment How can it feel, this wrong 'Cause a child, roses light Tried to reveal, what I could feel I can't understand myself Anymore 'Cause, I'm still feelin' lonely Feelin' so unholy Who am I, what and why 'Cause all I have left is my memories of yesterday Oh these sour times 'Cause nobody loves me, it's true Not like you do I don't believe its sad or mournful. This isn't a funeral. It hasn't given up. Not yet. There's just this desire for something, and the question as to whether its even a valid desire anymore. "Did you really want?" On the path toward alienation, but not quite there yet. "Give me a reason to love you." Prove my desires are worth having. Please. Because I've about given up on them. * I just wanted to point out how much the bass of Wandering Star sounds just like distant air brakes from a truck, something you'd hear lying in your bed in the city, but I have no idea how to fit it in.
28 years later and this album still holds up. Fantastically atmospheric and moody, with an ever present throbbing running through the whole album. 90s electronica is such a fantastic treasure trove
Weird in the best way. I was expecting nothing less.
I did a list of my top 10 albums of all time. This was not on it. What an oversight. Dummy has always taken me somewhere special. I think it always will.
Wow that is some quality sound construction right there. Quite an amazing album. Big memories of first year uni.
I liked this album, good vibe.
I didn’t care much for the other portishead album but this one has a much different feel. The singers voice is a little eerie but also melancholic and relaxed. The production between the beats and instrumentals is pretty good. It definitely fits in its own sub genre of music. Overall though it’s good. 6.1/10
I tried. I really did. But it’s so boring
Much easier listening than the other Portishead album.
Here's the thing about Portishead - they're the first artists I ever heard of who recorded their music and then sampled it to turn it into the songs on the album. Maybe I don't have that exactly right, but I seriously dig that worth ethic. But anyway, the first two songs are GREAT. The third is good. Then the fourth one is kinda like "uh-oh, are they going for Sade, here? Because I like Sade, but I don't want that from Portishead." But then it clicks back in with Wandering Star and builds up to Glory Box which is a GREAT closer. This is a good album. I like Portishead.
I can be brief - I bought this album on the basis of what others told me. This subsequently served to reinforce the notion that I should trust my own instincts. A yawn-a-thon, lingering in the speakers like a drab, wet Sunday afternoon.
I don't always trip the hop, but when I do I choose Portishead. I think I like that live dilly of theirs better than this, but I still enjoy the overall listening experience here. Is it the cup of tea I want every day? No. No it is not. But compared to the other stuff we've been subjected to in this space I think this band is head and shoulders above the rest, due primarily to the voice of Beth Gibbons. She is good. She makes this work. I had the "Sour Times" single/EP and a Dr. No shirt back in high school. It was a good combo. I was only a few gadgets and a tuxedo away from starting my own cinematic universe.
It is an album. People on it made sounds in a facsimile of music. It sucks and I hated it.
What a lazy and cynical exercise in a valueless genre with a stupid name. “Maybe if we take our lack of musicality and 1 octave-range breathy vocals, and throw in a few turntable scratches, people will think we are avant-garde”
I only made it through half of the album. I didn't care for it. Just not for me.
Aight
Great sound
amazing best ever
Wandering Star 7/10 Overall 7/10
This album is no1 in my list.
Easy.
Never really gave Portishead the time of day when first getting into music.. even after attending uni in Bristol..Tbh, not the greatest fan of their slow tempo beat sounds but will definitely save the album for future listening. I think I can see myself grow to appreciating them.
I couldn’t finish it because it was just boring to me
Quiet chaos, soul reaching repetition, effortless passion, nonchalant pathos. I’ve had several songs from this album on my regular listening rotation for years, and yet, I’ve never listened to the whole album. I enjoyed every single song.
Original sound. Have known of Portishead for many years, but only started listening to them a few months ago. Love what they produced on Dummy and the self titled album. I laughed hard when this was the first album that was recommended, because I listen to it like twice a week.
Really enjoyed the mellow vibes
This will never be my thing. But I appreciate it more all these years later.
Disco sabrosón y melancólico. Se disfruta mucho la voz de Beth Gibbons y toda la música es muy buena. Es un 3.5 para mi que voy a subir a 4 por Ropes y porque ha envejecido muy bien.
Y otro de esos discos que aunque no son parte de mi rotación constante sé reconocer como una chulada. Para escuchar trip hop se necesita cierto mood (que de hecho en el trabajo puede funcionar) pero cuando no es el mood correcto, puede cansar. Dejando eso de lado, este disco además de la histórica importancia en el género, está lleno de buenos detalles, especialmetne la voz.
+++
Cool album with one of the great closing tracks.
If this is electronic music, then I guess I'm starting to admire it. Portishead is definitely tops in this genre. What makes it great is the combination of electronic beats and authentic instrumentation. Plus the lead vocals are haunting and captivating. Sour Times is my jam, but Glory Box is permanently in the rotation now!
A solid gold epic of an album
I liked the mix of styles in this album. There was some soul, lounge, and Electronica, and it all sounded a little haunting and trippy. Loved the vocals. Favorite songs were Mysterons and Wandering Star.
I heard this album before and I really like Portishead exectly. I like how everyday sounds integrate into music and make beautiful album. 5\5
I had never listened to Portishead, so I wasn't sure what to expect and it definitely wasn't what I was expecting. Termed as "trip-hop", I thought it would be more electronic and heavier and I wasn't expecting female vocals (Beth Gibbons). The music was nice and her vocals were beautiful, and at some point I thought I was listening to Sade. Not a bad listen, I'll have to listen again to fully appreciate it.
Dark and moody, Portishead utilized subtlety to bring us an excellent trip hop album that loves it's jazz influences. Their excellence is twofold: the first being Adrian Utley's production that sets the mood for Dummy along with some of the best sampling at that time. Geoff Barrow is also worth crediting for introducing Utely to sampling and production work, while Barrow does the programming and a few other things on Dummy. The second great element of Portishead is Beth Gibbons and her smooth vocals. Her ambiance is unmatched and is a perfect fit for the smokey instrumentals. Dummy is purposeful, methodical, and impressive in it's execution. It's like a long cigarette break on the graveyard shift.
Aiiiiiii, dakle ovo je vrh trip-hopa, ako nikad ovaj album nisi slušao u mračnoj atmosferi...ne znam šta čekaš? Ili onako općenito...Toliko dobrih, odličnih stvari, iako mnogim ljudima nije u top 3 ma skoro ni u top 5 sa albuma, meni je It Could Be Sweet najdražće. Nije mi savršen album, ne mog reć, ali je blizu i stoga ovoliko zvjezdica.
Haahaaaa neki dan slušo, live su bolesno dobri molim vas samo poslušajte ovo iako vam se ne svidi album. https://youtu.be/CZ_Z0Zfvsj0
Really enjoyed it, except for a couple of tracks.
Dummy is good for a dreary wet day, which it is when I'm listening, there's an introspective to it and a pain in the vocals, which will always grab me. Fine, it wanders aimlessly for a while, but you can get away with it in an album like this, and Glory Box is a smashing closer. Easy 3/5.
Liked this a lot - it's a bit miserable and definitely not an album for all times and moods, but it's done really well and consistently good all the way through. Not often that an album ends with its best song, but this one did. Just falls shy of a 4, but not by much.
Not really a fan of trip-hop... most of the songs are just boring and lifeless. A few are actually pretty good (like Glory Box and Roads) but they don't make up for the rest of the album.
The early notes of Portishead magic are here, but they're much too dated and buried underneath abstruse arrangements to make much of an impact. I'll always be a "Third" fan (likely a function of my age, but who knows), and to me that LP works because it has the perfect mix of dynamic contrast and emotion – this one doesn't hit the right balance between loud and soft, emotional and out-there to really leave a favorable impact
Wow, loved the lofi jazz feel here. You can see this band influenced phantogram a lot which is one of my faves.
I could listen to this album everyday. This puts in in this super chill mood and every track is magical.
I won't pretend to be a trip-hop expert but this was really underwhelming. Bland background noise that all mushed together.
9.5/10
I first listened to this album probably ten years ago or so from a friend who gave me a burned a copy of this cd. I really like the instrumentation and her vocal style. Triphop is a genre that I am interested in checking out more. Glory box and wandering star are my favorite two songs.
Era defining eerie sounding big breaking music from Portishead near Bristol. Sounds retro and modern in tandem. Beth Gibbons kills it in the vocals, like a glamorous 60s chanteuse in Doc Martens.
Incredible debut and easily a favourite. Long time listener, first time reviewer.
great!
2.5
very mellow
Excellent album, définitivement à réécouter. Nice vibe smooth, très sensuel mais dark à la fois. Je comprends pourquoi c'est un critical acclaim
Eerie loveliness
- this truly deserves to be in 1001 albums - it gently creeps, it's very inconspicuous - cant stop thinking about Wandering stars....would love to see deconstructed
classique
The chill factor here is undeniable, the hiphop grooves and melodies are nothing to scoff at here. In fact, they are very much a good thing on this album. Perfect rhythm to write to, or do office work. The real weakness here is the vocals. It is an interruption to the aforementioned enjoyable grooves. The lyrics do not take control as they should, nor do they add enough to the songs to justify their presence, and this is a problem for most of the album because if this is triphop, let the listener be on the trip. Notable exception is the final track "Glory Box" where tonally the singer and the music found their harmony. Lounge-sound, some well done crooning, was a well-taken trip. It is a shame that the rest of the album did not match this energy.
I enjoyed this much more than expected.
There was a wider than usual range of how much I liked the songs on this album (wasn't paying close enough attention to write down the ones I liked, though). Interesting style, glad to have heard it.
In my opinion, this album is the very definition of trip hop. I love the noir atmosphere that this album gives, I love Beth Gibbons's hypnotic vocals, I love the texture of the drums and the guitars and the beats, it's just a perfect album for me through and through.
Eerie and dreamy and totally cool, but also static, almost posing. It could do with some tunefulness. It’s all moods, with little flow and next to no harmony. Trip-hop is not aging all that well; here, the over-reliance on the same little scratchy sound-effect speaks to a passing (now long past) moment of coolness; these songs are equally transitory, if still cool, which lands them somewhere between triviality and ephemerality. 3
One of my all time favorites. Album generator really hitting me with peaks and valleys. Genius album here. Music, mood, lyrics. Perfect.
I’ve always liked this album. My ex girlfriend played it a lot -1 star
I love this album. Perfectly sad and awesome at the same time
4.1 - Fantastic mixture of hip hop, blues and soul. Hauntingly chill tracks that are a perfect listen for so many times.
Classic
Couple of belters, but6 overall meh
FIVE STARS An all-time classic and a personal favorite of mine. As is usually the case with those five-stars albums, I won't write a full-blown review about this particular record, because others have already written wonderful stuff about it and there's not much I can add that I feel could be relevant and interesting. It's just a gem. Go and listen to it a.s.a.p. Number of albums left to review or just listen to: more than 900, I've temporarily lost count here Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: approximately a half so far (including this one) Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: a quarter Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more important): the last quarter
Meh. Not a terrible album by any means, but not something I would listen to again.
Классный альбом. Качает шикарно. Люблю рэперские штучки, типа виниловых закручиваний. Офигенно. И девушка поёт здорово.
Game-changer. Had never heard anything like this when it first came out. The musical equivalent of what I imagine drinking too much cough syrup feels like. Puts the "trip" in trip-hop. Haunting and sad but also sexy AF.
Glad for an excuse to listen to some Portishead, been loving Glory Box on YT for a while now. Roads and Wandering Star were excellent. Beth Gibbons with the stellar vocals as usual.
I had heard of them but never heard them. Cool sound, very unique. Fun listen.
Listened to on 4/11/22 3/5 Favorite song: Wandering Star Heavy emphasis on the beats - good vibes all around but some weird breathy lyrics. Background music for sure
Very moody music. Sounds like it influenced a lot of chill/trip hop today. My favorite song (and the only one I think I’d heard before) is Glory Box.
4/11/22 Background music. Should be in a spy movie. All songs blur together. Favorite song: Glory Box
Highlights: Wandering Star. Another album that was totally new to me, and I enjoyed it.
Brilliant album. Hauntingly atmospheric and truly unique. Easy five stars but…. ….I couldn’t really tell you what any of the songs go like.
8/10
Entiendo que es bueno, pero aburre.
I liked it. Felt very cinematic. I had originally thought it sounded like a 90s teen TV show soundtrack, the part where that one couple finally get together, or can't get together, or break up after being together, but it's actually too good to make that comparison. Moody & broody, the kind of music for the evening (in my opinion) if that makes sense.
Nope
2.5/5 Not my music genre, still this was not bad. But after a while the songs all sound the same. It has a nice easy vibe and was not as bad as I thought it would be. Favourite song: - Wandering star
One of the greatest.
🔥
Great cool 90s techno/ambient tunes. One of my all-time favorite background music albums
I love Portishead's self titled album but for some reason this is my first time listening to this one...so this will be fun.
Funny this came right after Massive Attack. Good stuff as well. Electronic soul. Roads and Sour Times are great tunes. Few tunes sound similar but I can live with that.
Like someone put 90's hip-hop and alt-rock into a blender. The gloomy mood makes it perfect rainy day music but the record scratches and samples keep the music from becoming too downbeat or melancholy. It’s a cool, druggy vibe. Favorite tracks: “Sour Times” (one of those songs I didn’t even know that I knew until it came on), “It Could Be Sweet” (that bass line!) and “Wandering Star” (love the record scratches and background layers).
Throwback to college days! I definitely had an impressively high iTunes playcount on "Sour Times" and "Glory Box". The rest of the album is nice and trippy, but those two just have the hooks that drone in your head. Super cool music.
Pros: - 1994 this came out. Grunge was the shit and they release this wickedly noir, vibey, cool, sickly blend of post rock that's been hanging out with minimalist electronics and somehow make it all work so good that it still makes me wonder ~28 years later how they didn't get asked to do a James Bond theme song. - Sometimes when I have random daydreams about running off to the desert and making an album, the final output in my head ends up sounding like this album and this band. - This is a great mixture of foreground and background music for me. I could have it on while my brain is 99% doing something else, like reading a book. I could have it on while my brain is doing 1% something else, like doing the dishes. - Listen to "Strangers" at the 1:12 mark. The pulse of the song from here on is what sounds like a phone ringing off the hook. How cool is that? Cons: Misc: - It just oozes "cool".
Far too many of these contemporary and electronic albums that provide little must hear value or excitement. Just a boring album, regardless of production quality.
Even non-instrumental electronic music is still electronic music at the core: doesn't give anything at all and is rather annoying
I actually really enjoyed this. It's like Amon Tobin, but with tolerable bits of techno music thrown in.
1.75
masterpiece
J’ai bien aime le style lambiance c’est un super album 4.75
Trip hop isn't really my thing, but this is perfectly fine for the background. 'Glory Box' was the best track by far.
Neither heard, nor heard of, Portishead until it popped up here. Really, really enjoyed it. Melodic & lyrically (& trip hoppy...). Added all three albums to collection.
I don't know whether this is the best album to listen to while you're working or if it's the worst. Pros: it's very trancelike. Cons: It nearly made me fall asleep for that very reason. Fave track was "Sour Times," but there were quite a few good ones in here. But even with that being the case, there's a certain sameness quality that would deter me from regularly re-listening to this album from start to finish. A strong meh for me.
Quite a good record, and I really enjoy the style (trip-hop) but my preference is to Morcheeba and Massive Attack.
great album - depressing as hell but great.
Outstanding
Of course, Its a defining album of our generation
Solid album. Lots of cool, mellow songs. Not a huge fan of the record crackling they did on there. Good chill album but very the same throughout
This album is a really nice find for me! I would probably not have listened to this album if it wasn't for it being on this list! I love the beautiful and fragile vocals. The sparse use of organ, strings and bass are perfectly placed throughout. The only thing that pulls this album down a bit for me is use of scratching and some of the effects. Overall, a great listen with a cool groove. Favorite songs: Glory Box, Roads, It Could be Sweet. Rating 4 out of 5
I'm still new to trip-hop, but Portishead sounds like they've perfectly honed and executed a very cinematic and moody, with jazzy Billie Holiday-style vocals. It's stylish, but also full of substance and depth. I'll definitely be returning to this record.
I once tried to buy this album from a thrift store, but when I got home, I realized someone had swapped in a Joni Mitchelle CD. Court and Spark I think. So my Portishead experience was deferred until now. What a lovely, moody record. Feels like a balm. It's so delicate. The vocals are gorgeous and reflective (except "Numb"... just, why?). It reminds me a lot of the Everything But the Girl record we had earlier. I love the electronics and drums as well. The turntables are losing me a little bit -- I don't know if they've aged as well as the rest of this record has. They're the one thing that feels overwhelmingly of its time. Fave tracks: It Could Be Sweet, Wandering Star, Roads, Glory Box
A wonderful album.
trip hop for the win
Strangers was sampled in a sick Mac Miller/Vince Staples song
Other reviewers have asked the same question: Why haven't Portishead been tapped for a James Bond theme? Beth has a great voice, totally suited to the slow beats that back her up. I'd never heard this band, their name sounded like a folk band. Then I read something that said they were pioneers of trip hop. This immediately sent my antennae waving, not in a good way. But I've been pleasantly surprised and enjoyed their music, bar one important detail. I've listened to several albums recently that all suffer from a lack of variety. EDM is chronically guilty of that. Sadly, it becomes a bit wearing. But it's so well done it still gets four stars. A couple of reviewers had a go at the scratching. IT'S 1994 FFS!
Meh a bit boring
This band was starting out in Bristol (England) while I was at university there. But somehow I didn’t hear about them until after I had left, some time shortly after this album came out. This, plus massive attack became my staple and around that time and I still listen to this music. Great, innovative, original band. Love it.!
Decent album. I really enjoyed the more hip hop like tracks. Instrumentals for these but also the other ones were really enjoyable. However, slow tempo singing songs isn't my cup of tea but very atmospheric.
Not bad! I don’t really get the triphop genre but whatever this was was fine
This album had an otherworldly sound when I first heard it. Upon listening again, it didn't awe me to the extent it did the first time in 1994, but it holds up really well and remains a great top-to-bottom album. I actually never thought they matched it with subsequent releases, (admittedly they didn't want to be pigeon-holed) but they really brought trip-hop to prominence along with Massive Attack.
I have seen this band’s name for years and always thought it was ridiculous. This is a classic case of you can’t judge a book by it’s cover. Loved this. Will absolutely listen again. Really glad this one popped up because I never would have tried it on my own.
So cool. Like a soundtrack to a suspense noir movie
It's cool i guess, really sad but cool drums and stuff
I expected this to be pretentious. It was. I expected this to be insufferable. It ... was not. While I'm most definitely not a fan of the gothy lounge-lizard vocals, the album has its moments of brilliance. There are tracks that are evocative of a film score and are enjoyable. The album on the whole, however, it just so very tryhard and the end result is less than satisfying.
Love this album
I remember hearing Sour Times for the first time. Nothing sounded like this then. Nothing sounds like it now. I've never listened to this whole album and I was missing out. btw Wandering Star is amazing, had to listen to it twice in a row.
Two trip-hop albums in a row. I liked this one a little bit more than Massive Attack, but still not going to go in heavy rotation.
An album that hasn’t aged a bit since its release! A true classic!
Meh
It’s always amazing to here such a vibe, consistent throughout a piece of work like this, that encapsulates an entire time period and genre.
Maravilloso
Never heard this all the way through before today, and this won't be the last time. Not necessarily chill out but necessarily cool nonetheless.
I'm very familiar with this album as it was a favorite of a crush of mine. I a indifferent to it on all levels.
Cool
I've played this album till it was worn and grey back in the 90's. Trip Hop at its finest. There's not a bad song on this album.
Just like I remember, Eerie and Mellow. Great Stuff.
the leads singer is passionate about the songs
Not bad. Mellow. Pleasant. Might not make my regular rotation but glad I heard it. I never heard of the "trip hop" genre, but it sounds like it's under the alternative branch. Maybe even a little prog??
I'm not sure what I was expecting with this "trip hop" but my gosh, this is great! What a wonderful album, truly a unique sound. Some songs really blew my socks off--"Sour Times"? "It's a Fire"? Wow! Actually, "Glory Box" has a very Billie Holiday feel to it. Some other songs I didn't enjoy as much, but regardless I can't wait to listen to this album more and more.
One word I would use to describe Portishead's vocals, especially on this album, is "haunting". This album mixes a chamber music sound with what was, at the time, an electronic-forward, trip hop sound, with the occasional record scratch sound effect straddling the line between the two realms. It makes for a very interesting listen! Prior to hearing this album front to back, I was only familiar with the song "Glory Box" off of this album, and I still feel like this is the standout of this album. Ultimately, a very chill listen, and while it didn't stand out in any exceptional way to me, I enjoyed it.
Smooth ellectronic music and trip hop
o álbum é bom, mas o estilo não é muito o meu (muito eletrônico)
Pretty meh, though I liked the last song.
A very good early exemple of trip hop. A lot of good references, expecially in the choice of samples. The sample of Isaac Hayes' "Ike's Rap II" elevates "Glory Box" to another level and the singles are the best tracks - all trip hop classics.
Love everything about this album
Love this album. Bought it soon after it came out when I heard Glory Box. Played it only last week.
Going in I only knew Glory Box because my wife put that on a mix CD when we first started dating. I liked the song but never felt the need to check out the band further. I probably should have because this was a fun listen. Very relaxing in its way. I know next to nothing about the genre but I know what I like. Some songs were admittedly not as good as others but overall very good. I'd probably give it a 3.5 but the album made me think of my wonderful wife who I love dearly, so a 4 it is.
Really enjoyed some of the tracks, very unique
I'm not a fan of the genre so for me it got very monotonous very quickly. While the voice is quite pleasant, the rest is pretty mediocre.
Masterpiece
Meio deprê, meio sexy: give me a reason to be a woman. Impactante.
Enkel het laatste nummer van dit album kende ik. Verder vond ik het weinig speciaal, maar wel oké
Good Album. I enjoyed it very much as some background tunes.
I really didn't like the first one of their albums that came up on this list. I also really didn't like this one.
6.7
This was really dull to me. All the songs blended together and I couldn't really differentiate one from the other. No stand outs for me.
Classic sounds. Scratching sounds dated now but everything else flows together.
They seem to occupy their own genre, how do they do it?
Absolutely iconic. I love that, in addition to some crate digging, they recorded their own music to sample and loop. Just brilliant. I'm a sucker for the downtempo beats and the general moodiness.
Welcome to trip-hop. I think you can have sex to any of these songs to be honest. Already know this one very well, I like almost every song on it. Definitely a Portishead fan, the way they can weave a seductively dark vibe is top. Beth is a great singer as well and I love her vocal style. I came to this pretty late unfortunately, didn't hear it until my mid 20s, but I probably wouldn't have liked it as a teenager unfortunately. Only track that isn't as good as the rest is "It's A Fire", apparently it wasn't on the original UK release and I see why, not bad just not in the same caliber. Hard to pick a favorite track, but it might be Wandering Star. I really like Mysterons, It Could Be Sweet, Roads, Glory Box as well. Overall, Dummy may still be their best work.
Þessi er náttúrulega klassík, á hana á vínil og hef hlustað nokkrum sinnum en ekki nógu oft í rauninni. Ég er á því að þetta sé alveg hátt í 9/10 honestly, þó ég neyðist til að gefa henni 4 stjörnur.
Incredible. One of my favorite albums on the list so far. Way ahead of their time.
Impossiblycool used to play it in the kitchen I worked in and everyone hated it which made me love it more. Great to hear it again back to a time and place.....