Dummy

Mesmerizingly powerful and effortless cool.

So chill but hypnotic—I can really see how a lot of contemporary music was informed by this record’s sound. Some tracks dragged a bit but it never made for a poor listening experience, and when there were highs (“Sour Times”, “It Could Be Sweet”, “Glory Box”), they soared. EDIT (7/8/26): after sitting with this album a bit longer, it’s really stuck with me in a way many of my other four stars haven’t. upgrading to my first 5:) STAND-OUT SONG: “Glory Box” HONORABLE MENTIONS: “Sour Times”, “It Could Be Sweet”, “It’s A Fire”, “Mysterons”

Fantastic album, well recorded and with no filler songs, all good all the way through.

Now this is an album you need to listen to before you die

When to listen: slow and gauzy moment. I absolutely loved this album, I haven't heard anything like it before and Glory Box is a triumph.

Calm v would like Nice voice

This album is special no matter how many times I listen to it, it will always sound new and exciting. I don't think there is an album which sounds so refreshing and unmistakable. Beth Gibbon's voice is stunning back to front, every single performance is 5/5

Day 297 The lyric in Roads ‘I’ve got nobody by my side and surely that ain’t right’ might be one of my favourite moments in music ever, sends shivers down my spine every single time. One of the best live acts I’ve ever seen, quite an easy 5. Highlights It’s a fire Numb Glory box

5/5. This album has always made me feel like I’m in a big city at night in a neo-noir movie. And when it comes to Trip Hop, this is what I’d point to as one of the two peaks of the genre (the other being Massive Attack’s Mezzanine.) the production is fantastic throughout, especially on the percussion side of things. And Beth Gibbons is a great vocalist who really sells the dreamy atmosphere of the whole record.

Маю на диску, купляв ще коли CD були актуальні і продавалися в магазинах. Люблю цей альбом, правда давно не слухав і це нагадування щоб записати його на плеєр. Прослухав цей альбом два рази на CD плеєрі - дуже круто. Вже зкачав цифрову версію, щоб записати на iPod.

One of my favourite albums of all time. Each song is distinct but fits into the overall dark, mysterious ambience of the album. The sampling and scratching is so nicely done and it’s such a groovy album.

Such a good album

9.7/10

love this

Love this album

It's A Fire still sucks though

Great stuff

Great album that's stayed great with time

Essential to anyone, this album feels so heavy and so tender, her voice will carry you far, but it's an experience that anyone can appreciate. No notes, am excellent record from beginning to end.

Quel chef d'oeuvre. Si je me souviens bien, j'ai écouté l'album pour la première fois après avoir entendu Glory box dans le film "the killer" de david fincher. Et j'ai pris une claque de fou. L'ambiance et la recherche de sonorités à travers l'album sont super prenantes. Le projet est tellement complet et les finitions sont juste parfaites. Même si l'ambiance est homogène, la plage de sons explorée dans l'ensemble du disque est vaste. Ils prennent leurs insprations dans tant de genre différent pour en faire un truc frais et qui leur est propre. Merci pour ce doux nectar. Mon premier 5 1) Roads 2) Glory box 3) Sour Times

C'était génial, vraiment un tempo bien à lui, la musicalité est folle c'était un super moment

Loved every minute! Reminded me of Zero 7. Favorite tracks: Mysterons, Sour Times, It Could Be Sweet, Roads

Bought it when new. Excellent album and excellent band

Quel banger ÉNORME chef d’œuvre ayant défini le trip hop, un de mes albums préférés depuis le collègue et sûrement pour toute ma vie !!! Frissons à It’s a fire, pourquoi elle est pas plus famous… je m’incline

I loved it. What an experience. It's so ethereal. Surreal. One of the best gems this challenge has gifted me. It's truly great.

Love this, very happy to have this back in my ears!

Incredible and groundbreaking. Hard for me to describe this music but it’s atmospheric, haunting, beautiful, and classic.

Ahead of its time.

Yes, one of the important albums of the 90's for me. 5/5

Portishead — Dummy (1994) Как ни странно, но Портишхэд — одна из первых групп, с которой я осознанно познакомился благодаря моему дяде психонавту-меломану. В детстве она звучала, как нечто из другого мира — тёмного, непонятного, но влекущего своей "взрослостью" и "нетаковостью". В сознательном же возрасте мрак, передаваемый их томным виниловым звуком, ощущается более понятно и многослойно, колебля засевшие глубоко нотки неизбежного одиночества и ностальгии по временам, которых, может быть, и никогда не было. Одни из бристольской тройки (куда входили так же Massive Attack и Tricky), основавшей в начале девяностых на туманном Альбионе новый жанр на стыке джаза, хип-хопа и "интеллектуальной" электроники — трип-хоп, Портиши до сих пор звучат одновременно свежо и по-хорошему вне времени. На альбоме переплетаются кинематографичные зарисовки с шпионскими мотивами в духе Бондианы (Sour Times и Glory Box) с церковным электронным органом, подыгрывающим оркестровым партиям в духе раннего Moby (It's A Fire), и тёмные бэнгеры, наполненные то ли звуками реверберированных и заскрэтченных телефонных гудков приснившихся в лихорадочном сне звонков, то ли сонару подлодки (Biscuit и Strangers), а поверх всего этого звукового многообразия тёплым одеялом лежит ангельский голос Бет Гиббонс. Твердейшая 9/10, нестареющий альбом, опередивший своё время.

One of my favorite albums. Feels like being alone in the night. Never realized it was categorized as trip-hop

Pegada alternativa, mais "chill", mas com um background emocional mais tristonho, como ouvi no trabalho não tive tanta capacidade de prestar taaanta atenção nos arranjos/composição.

Trip hop masterpiece. I've always resonated more with this album than any others in the trip hop pantheon like mezzanine, I think something about Beth's voice paired with the slightly grimy, minimal beats just puts it over the top. Easy 5

Sublime

Hell yeah! Beth Gibbons, Adrian Utley, and Goeff Barrow are a team of a lifetime. They compliment each other so well. This album defined a genre.

One of my all time favorites.

First off, the vocals from Beth Gibbons heavily sets the mood for the whole album. She leaves a soft to high, almost sudden but smooth, tragic balance that fits SOOOOOOO WEEEEEELLLLLLL into every track. Without her vocals guiding me through songs like Sour Times and Strangers (my favourites) I'd imagine I wouldn't be as engrossed into tracks as I ended up being. Top notch stuff. I wish I knew more terminology or recognition of the instrumentals. I mentioned before Gibbon's vocals guiding me through the tracks; the tracks themselves, to me, set the *world* or setting for the Gibbon's vocals to hold your hands through. Like with Suede I was on my toes and continually engaged. I'd give that *feeling* maybe an 6/10. Dummy is a 11/10. Always reshaping. Always diving in deeper then suddenly reemerging. Again, wish I knew more terms to describe ***exactly what the instrumentals are doing *for me*. All in all, Dummy felt Blue and heavy with atmosphere with tragedy lingering in the air. its cracked bro G :) T3: Strangers, Sour Times, Biscuit (Glory Box is a very close 4)

It's just hypnotic

i've tried to listen to this before and wasn't terribly impressed, but that was a few years ago so let's give it another shot. not doing play-by-play here, but overall good enough. i heard about it in the context of background music for ... certain extracurricular activities. and it certainly has potential there. first half of the album was stronger than the second, i thought. sour times stood out for sure. second half seemed less original and more cliche electronica? i really have no idea what these words mean, but that's how i would describe it. oh lol reading the reviews it looks like glory box is a fan favorite track; i thought it was a meh song. edit: look when you listen to an album three more times in the following day and a half, you have to go edit the rating. originally given a 4/5, raised to 5/5.

AMAZING

So good I played it twice in a row. A big part of the soundtrack of my formative years.

If Massive Attack, Air and Mazzy Star had a depressed baby. Great tracks, amazing vocals, pure mood and vibe. Awesome. 4.6

Un álbum sencillamente esencial para la historia de la música. El Trip-Hop que proponen los británicos guiados por la voz de Gibbons es hipnótico, atmosférico y eficaz al momento de dejarte atrapado y con ganas de más. La influencia de este LP es inconmensurable, habiendo aportado a toda la música alternativo que le siguió (siendo indispensable, por ejemplo, al sonido del disco inicial de Gorillaz, banda sumamente influyente en el pop). Pistas recomendadas TODAS

beautiful gorgeous sickening stunning amazing feminine album god i love this album it embodies being a woman to me

ughhhh makes me ugly cry every time [complementary]

No notes

easiest five strars of the list so far, one of my fav albums of all time i feel like all i can say about this is an understatement, it is an exploration of a unique sound that manages to stand out from its contemporaries; dark, emotional, and genuinely mind blowing eternally grateful for these almost spiritual exporiences and for the change of perspective they represent, this list is partly a consequence of that

This is such a good spin on the jazz-club music, its slowed, provacative, and good, above all else.

"Uffff" fue lo primero que me salió del alma al ver que éste era el disco de hoy. Me recuerda a una amiga, compañera de andanzas y de consumo, ahora ya más rescatada y a nuestros viajes cuando cursábamos en la facultad. También, a una ex, con nuestro sexo siempre musicalizado por esta banda y otras del género. Quizás el trip-hop tenga ambas cosas: quedarse tirado en un sillón a oscuras o con poca luz o estar en una habitación de a dos, comiéndose como si no hubiera un mañana. Un disco exquisito y hermoso. Gracias y hasta mañana

Great album! Kinda spooky and funky, and most importantly it feels authentic.

I didn’t discover this album until much later. But once I did, I thought it was fantastic and became a fan of the band. Together with the album Portishead, it served as the soundtrack to a novel/story by Norman Mailer that made a huge impression on me at the time. For quite a while, the music and the novel were very closely linked in my mind. A great album that I actually don’t need to listen to anymore, since I know it by heart. I listen to it anyway, because you can never get enough of good music. 5/5

Brilliant album. Really ambient and atmospheric. Love the singers voice and trippy backing and beats

Couldn't tell ya why but this hit perfectly. What an album.

Wat een fantastisch album zeg

Dit is gewoon echt iconisch. Sicke sound die niet zo nagemaakt is

Ik kan niks bedenken dat zo klinkt als dit. Een pareltje van een album

Misschien mijn favoriet op deze lijst tot nu toe. Dummy is zo uniek. Er is niets wat klinkt als Dummy en er is weinig wat zo goed klinkt als Dummy. Onwerkelijk album.

trip top love. I listened to this before.

Man do I love this album - if I could give more than 5 stars, I would.

One of my all-time favourite albums. A unique blend of electronic soul, jazz, and breaks. Smooth, sultry, and delicious. I never tire of this album.

Not many albums come along that completely redefine an already existing genre, but Portishead's Dummy is definitely one of them. Trip-Hop had been going on for a couple of years in 1994, but back then its Hip-Hop influence was more pronounced, with actual rapping being a prominent feature. Enter Portishead, and that whole idea went out the window. Moodier and darker than their peers, influenced by film noir soundtracks and 60's jazz and soul, the only real trace of Hip-Hop is in its characteristic slowed-down breakbeats, and but the biggest different is of course the vocals. Beth Gibbons' doomed femme fatale delivery truly evokes the smokey bar singer from film noir, balancing vulnerability and strength like no other. The trio wastes no time introducing the listener to their sound. "Mysterons" opens the record in a dreamlike fashion, an eerie but enticing dream, while "Sour Times" follows and serves as the album's spy-music manifesto. From then on, a consistently dark mood is mantained that never becomes dull or overstays its welcome. Record scratches and sampling abound. The various vocals samples feel like calls from a different plain, contributing to the album's overall dreamy quality, like the "I'll never fall in love again"'s on "Biscuit". We also get softer moments in "It Could Be Sweet" or "It's a Fire" weaved with darker ones like "Strangers" and its gut-punch beat. The closer "Glory Box", with its iconic Isaac Hayes sample, fades in and out as a final dream sequence just before morning. Suffice to say, plenty of imitators tried to jump on the success of this album and I'd say pretty much all of them missed what made it special in the first place. A lot of them mostly stuck with overlaying Trip-Hop beats with coffee shop pop soul and called it a day. There were some good ones, sure, but it felt more like a pastische of 60's lounge and easy listening rather than anything new and exciting. Portishead themselves could have been incredibly successful doing just that too, but after their 1997 self-titled follow-up, which expanded on the debut's sound, they disappeared only to re-emerge 11 years later with a much different and challanging sound. I have a deep personal attachment to this album. My parents got very into Trip-Hop in the 90's when I was a kid, and this album was played a lot at the time. I can still picture our backyard in my head whenever the opening chords of the album's centerpiece "Roads" come on. It's all very nostalgic to me. And no matter how many times I heard it, the effect still remains. I simply cannot overstate how important and influential this album was to my music taste and love of music in general. Key tracks: Mysterons Sour Times Strangers Wandering Star It's a Fire Numb Roads Biscuit Glory Box

I fuckin love this album, somehow it's both seductive and slightly unsettling or menacing at the same time. A trip hop noir masterclass. To me it just works perfectly with Beth Gibbon's beautiful sparse vocals, scratches and samples from Geoff Barrow and minimalist guitar from Adrian Utley. They really captured something special with this album, which their other albums didn't quite reach. 5 stars !

Make out music from senior year. Good times.

Give Me A Reason To Love You 1001 Albums Generator 273 (4/20/2026) Dummy is the debut album by trip hop group Portishead, and it is a fantastic album. On previous listen, I had given this a 4/5, but these listens allowed me to really appreciate the atmosphere that Portishead were able to create here. Every song is washed out in this reverb and there are constantly filters and it just kind of ends up sounding like alien music. I never really appreciated how psychedelic this album is, especially the cool organ sounds that are on plenty of the songs. And while this album is the most essential trip hop album of all time, there are also hints of turntablism, jazz and rock throughout. The only song I don't really like is It Could Be Sweet. The song lengths also tend to be long but I don't think that it harms the album as a whole, although it could make it feel like it drags a bit. 4.5/5, rounded up to a 5! Favs: Mysterons Roads Glory Box Least Fav: It Could Be Sweet

This is a good album. Catchy, simple and sophisticated in terms of rhythm and sound design, lyricism and emotional impact. Loved it in fact.

Portishead always no notes… the live from rosewood is one of my fave vinyls that I own

lover with questionable intentions, pack of cigarettes and this album

que álbum increíblemente cool y hot

It's not ass. In fact, it's one of the best, most moody albums of the 90s. Not quite perfect, but not far off.

Wooooow top

Oh Portishead... Pure sophistication, one of the formative albums of my life

It is never a bad day when you get to listen to Dummy. This is, I imagine for many, what Trip Hop sounds like. It's really a meeting of the minds… the two hardest bits of this to get right is the right mood on the loops and the right voice. Some go a bit too electro or dance, some vocals are too smooth or emotionless. But every groove here is downbeat and sultry, and Beth Gibbons’ voice wraps around every word, aching, vulnerable, but also chameleonic. That isnt a word, is it? You get it tho. So while those backbeats are necessary, it's Beth who carries this. Think about Glory Box, with its guitar and its vintage crackle and its cinematic swells… a lot of this feels cinematic, not the least of which because Gibbons is a master at the pregnant pause. She lets words just hang (the hook from Sour Times is probably as indicative of this as anything). It's intentional in a way that a lot of similar genres and bands aren't… not just made to get a club moving but to make a piece of art. And while it probably does not hold up as well as it could, i cannot imagine giving it less than 5*. If you aren't feeling something on Roads, do you feel?

A really, really, really good album. Melancholic and beautiful.

Better than Coldplay

In my opinion a legitimately perfect album. Beth’s voice is delicate and eerie. Dummy is dramatic and dirty and nostalgic all at the same time and in the best way possible. The theramin is also an amazing addition - all of the instrumentation is intriguing, and the lyrics are haunting and beautiful. I love trip hop and portishead, especially on dummy, pioneered it. This album is definitively a five. Fav songs: sour times, strangers, it could be sweet, wandering star, roads

Un grupo esencial de los 90, con un retorno igualmente especial (Thrid) y una cantante (Beth Gibbons) única. Yo prefiero el segundo, pero este fue todo un bofetón sónico que torció las orejas desde Madchester hacia Bristol (con Tricky y Massive Attack como compañeros), James Blake o Burial bien lo saben, no digamos los injustamente denostados Morcheeba y tantos otros. Portishead son Adrian Utley (que no era precisamente un adolescente y que además amaba el jazz) , Geoff Barrow (devoto del hip-hop) y Beth Gibbons, seguidora de Janis Joplin y Nina Simone. Su discografía es inmaculada, cualquier disco suyo es excelente y representativo. No tienen uno siquiera notable. Además Gibbons ha publicado Out of Season con Rustin Man (de Talk talk) y sobre todo Lives Outgrown (además de colaboraciones con Annie Lennox o Kendrick Lamar). Barrow a su vez tiene una excelente banda sonora como es Ex Machina o alguna expo de Bansky. Mientras Massive Attack lanzaban Protection, aún más blue que su debut, Portishead lograron aclamación con este artefacto lleno de Lounge, Trip-hop, Lalo Schifrin, Morricone, Weather Report, Isaac Hayes... con Numb como punta de lanza. La relación con el cine ya comenzaba incluso antes de su debut, con el corto To Kill a Dead Man, del que sacaron la portada (además de musicarlo). Hay Soul, sonido vintage de scrachts, electrónica, hip-hop, lounge... un cóctel único. Mientras todos se rendían al Brito, con su garrulismo y sus buenas canciones, Portishead demostraban que se podía usar música ajena para crear y no solo para atracar partituras. Glory Box es otra gema, pero de cualquiera de los 11 puede decirse lo mismo. Biscuit bien podría estar en Protection o en los dos primeros de DJ Shadow. Música sensual, extrañamente acogedora e intrigante. Este disco cambió la música de tal forma que dejaron de usar a Moby para sabotear cualquier cosa de ellos. Sour Times es el perfecto ejemplo, una canción que justifica una discografía.

One of my favorites! 5 stars

Holy Cow...how did i miss this one first time around??? Mercury prize winner, multi platinum sales, a true classic of it's genre. Cannot claim to really understand what "trip-hop" is, but this album certainly takes you on some kinda late night trip. Beth Gibbons voice is sublime and the music sounds wonderfully authentic. Pour me another whiskey and turn the lights down low....bliss Favourite track: Sour Times

In 2003 I was given this album on a CDR by a classmate in school as a way to try and hit on me. Didn’t work, but the album is excellent.

These songs are immaculately crafted, emotive, and creative. All while remaining so lowkey. Beth Gibbon’s vocal performance is near perfect. I loved this and will be returning to it.

<3

this is already 5*s to me <3 no skip album Roads, Biscuit, Wandering Star, Sour Times >>>>

Perfect electronic

I came into this already loving Dummy. This is an easy 5 for me. The longing in Beth's voice, the hard beats, the soundscapes. Dummy is a perfect record. Put it on when you need something sexy as a nightcap, when you're drowning in your feelings over that special someone, or just when you want to vibe the night away with some of the coolest and sexiest production ever put on wax.

Kuuntelin samalla kun kirjoitin kandia ja kirjoittaminen sujui hyvin. Sehän tarkoittaa sitä, että tää on automaattisesti 10/10. Ei vaan. Oikeesti tää oli mahtava aloitus tälle projektille. Rauhallinen albumi, joka imee itseensä erityisesti näin opiskellessa. Albumin vika biisi Glory Box oli Tiktokista tuttu… smh…

What a wonderful, mesmerising work of art, the highest grade. Every time I heard Dummy it always stays and sounds fresh, everything about it is wonderful and I could not give it less than 5 stars, how would that even be possible?

Sometimes an album is cool as shit

Good overall, maybe a little repetitive in terms of beats and overall feel, but still a fun, James Bond esc. listen. Best tracks were Glory Box and Sour Times

Sick album with a unique sound

Trip-hop. Interesting to hear those niche subgenres i heard about. I used to like electronic music but the more mainstream one, so its nice to see far roots. Roads, strangers, glory box were my favs Edit: its actually one of the best electronica albums out here, and after being recommended other similar albums, I found out I really like this genre, and this was the first and the best so far.

Incredibly atmospheric. Love the bold choice of the mix being almost mono.

Muzyka do r?

Every time I listen to this album, I can't believe my ears. It's phenomenal. It's so groovy and emotive. There's a lot of pain and heartache throughout and it captured perfectly

1994 was hands down the best year for music ever and this is at the pinnacle of stuff released that year. So atmospheric and Beth's vocals on Roads are mesmeric.

Feel 8.5/10: Almost Jazz but not?? Great work Length 7.5/10: It can drag at parts or I want more Musicality 9.75/10: HOLY. All I can say Flow 8/10:Good mixing between songs Lyrics 7.75/10: Wasn’t paying SUPER close attention so this section doesn’t matter Overall 9/10: Oh me oh my I loved this more than I expected

Fav songs: Roads and Glory Box

A classic

Not listened for a while and thought it may be a 4 but it’s a 5 all day long. So good.

One of my all-timers. The Roseland NYC live album is actual perfection and this is more of a 4.3/5 but I'm feeling generous.

This album was huge when released, I remember it was played everywhere. I still love it.

I’ve always enjoyed trip hop, and this is a prime example of how it should be done. So many great songs on one album! Favourites: Roads, Glory Box, Numb, It’s a Fire, Wandering Star and Sour Times.

de los mejores discos que escuche en mi vida, una referencia del triphop y la musica

Best album of its genre; easy 5/5

Probably the definitive trip-hop album for me. Just every song on this is incredible, with some really choice samples used (so much so that they're now more associated with Portishead than the original artist in my mind). But the key factor is Beth Gibbons' gorgeous, haunting voice which lends the whole album this seductive melancholy.

this record is fascinating because it blends the organic warmth of vinyl with a chilling digital precision and i love that. The low-end management is masterful: the sub-bass synths and kick drums possess a body that will thoroughly test your speakers' response.

Exactly the type of beats I'm looking for, lovely!

Love it!

4.5 - Portishead has been a longtime fav, they embody a style of music that feels like it should be the backdrop for who I want to be. I've been obsessed with this album for a while. only not a 5/5 cause there are a couple songs I'm shmedium on. Fav Songs: Sour Times // Strangers // Glory Box

nah

True original

One of my favourites! Don’t mind having to listen to this. Stand-outs - Sour Times - Roads - Glory Box

Amazing

the Joni Mitchell’s Blue of trip-hop

Really amazing album, pretty unique

Imho, this is a masterpiece, an album against which so many others need to measured. A head y blend of technology, aura and lyrics which draw you in. Outstanding. 5 doesn't do it justice

Dang. Still sounds great. A couple tracks are meh, but when this album is strong it’s really strong.

Mysterious and a little sexy. Fun stuff that was a big deal back in college.

I guess I’m a Portishead fan.

It's unreal. The drama, the cinematic composition, the angst and the contradiction of vulnerability and force. Crazy good, every track is a gut wrenching work of art.

тупо бомба

sexiest album EVER

This is every woman my age’s favorite record, and justifiably so! The very pinnacle of the trip-hop genre.

:)

Holy shit. This is epic. Its cinematic. Depth defying. Dense. Artistic. Dark. Well added nuanced sounds in all the right places. I wasn't incredibly keen on Third (also on this list) but this debut album is like if Parliament Funkadelic and Sade had a baby. I'm frequently going to come back to this and beefen up my thoughts. But i like this alot. I'm gonna give it 5 stars on one listen and not look back.

Most enjoyable. There were several songs I really liked, including Sour Times, Numb, Glory Box. With that many hits, I am sure the rest of the album is worth becoming familiar with. I will definitely jam this one again.

Discazo de trip hop

Awesome album. The masterpieces on this make up for the very few flailing moments

This was unlike anything I had heard before when it came out.

So good, so so good I need to spend more time with it, as its so so good Its a classic. Love it

Glory Box

First Listen: Dec 12 2023 some of the best trip-hop ever. so smooth and dark I lovee it. it could be sweet has been repeat ever since i first heard it

Exceptional, moody, and unique.

Was going to give it 4 stars because it's been a while since I heard this album, but nope, it's definitely worth the 5 it deserves.

Some of the best trip hop out there.

Still sounding fresh

As far as great Trip Hop albums go this sits at the top of the mountain. Hauntingly eerie and yet beautiful every song crafted with the weight of a thousand metal balloons. I think what I love about this album is it’s universally loved and revered. Metal heads, rave kids and folkies alike all have heart for this album and that’s what keeps it alive today.

Immaculate piece of music. It would be wrong not to mention how good “Its a fire” is. Probably a top 10 song of all time. Feels a lot like a hip hop album as well. 4 stars. Was this album better than yesterday’s album, In Rainbows by Radiohead? No. Edit: This is 5 stars and 1000x better than every Radiohead album combined

1994 I was in Bristol for university and I remember some of these tunes in this album It is great listening to it even today. Depressing a little bit but trippy. It started the trip hop genre at the time.

literal me sentí así al escuchar un tema atrás de otro: 🌌☄️🌠✨

goes DUMMY harf

I don't need to relisten to this to know it's a straight 5 but I'm gonna relisten to it anyway.

Nono me encantó, Glory box (me hace acordar a spencee de ppl) ya la había escuchado en tik tok, la parte viral. Me encanta como combina la elegancia, el grunge, genera una atmósfera impresionante. Creo que es trip-hop, tiene una escencia oscura y melancólica que te bajonea sinceramente. Es algo diferente de lo q sueño escuchar. 10/10

Dummy no se escucha, se habita. Ideal para cuando el mundo exterior está muy ruidoso.

One of the bases of trip-hop, love it.

Esta bien cotorro

Great

Had never really listened to Portishead, but really enjoyed it and include some songs on a new playlist I am building

Positively surprised. I want to know more about the band, I liked it very much. Lots of interesting songs.

Mysterons is one of the best opening tracks of all time. It's as though you've walked into an eerie shisha lounge, and a little DJ freak with a backpack and bifocals is playing very precise break beats while a sexy alien croons and permeates the room with indigo smoke. It only gets better with Sour Times. It's so desperate and slick, like the sad sister of Edwyn Collin's Girl Like You. Strangers oddly sounds like a Hawaiian guitar standard, mixed with a 1930s wartime ballad that's trying not to slip into the Matrix. That fidgeting guitar riff that comes and goes on It's A Fire is ludicrously effective. Roads almost sounds like the soundtrack to a 1990s Cadbury's Flake advert, if the woman finished eating the Flake, slipped off her silk gown and then gently killed herself in a creamy bathtub. I don't have any words to describe how good Glory Box is, it's a perfect song. It's deft, orchestral, sincere and the music is all expertly balanced. I remember it being absolutely rinsed in adverts and TV when the album came out, which is irritating because that often serves to undermine just how good a composition can be. I'm not mad keen on Bristol trip hop bedfellows Massive Attack, Roni Size or Tricky, but Portishead are in a league of their own, and this album is their defining moment. Hats off to their sulky masterpiece, and to Beth Gibbons, the gaunt human theremin.

Mysterons - 4.5/5 Sour Times - 5/5 Strangers - 4.5/5 It Could Be Sweet - 4/5 Wandering Star - 4.5/5 Numb - 4/5 Roads - 4/5 Pedestal - 4/5 Biscuit - 4/5 Glory Box - 4.5/5 I've never really been exposed to trip hop outside of that one Massive Attack song as the opener to House, but this is a complete package very ahead of its time. The whole structure loopy guitar riffs, mellow samples, and the singer's intimate voice make this the quintessential trip hop album (although Mezzanine should also be on this list as it is the other quintessential trip hop album). Overall: 5/5 Favorites: Sour Times, Wandering Star, Glory Box

Enjoyed this more than I expected. Very eerie and moody, but it fits a time and place. Glory Box is so good.

low 5

# Album Name: Dummy # Artist: Portishead # Rating: 5/5 # Comments: What a banger of an album. Love the mood, the vibe and the vocals of this record. The quality of the production, engineering and the band are top draw. # Top Tunes: Its a fire / Mysterons / sour times / numb / roads / biscuit / glory box # Would I listen to it again? Yes

Old favourite

Goated album

Oh yeahhhhh new genre unlocked for me

Long on my list of favourite ever albums, so this is probably one of the easiest 5's I will ever give on this project. I recognise there is a fair bit of bias and previous experience going into this, but I just absolutely love this album. Listening back now also provides that additional nostalgia of hearing this back in my youth, further cementing that top top rating.

A milestone back in 1994, and still spectacular to listen to today.

Nighttime vibes to perfection

I fuck with this heavy. Standouts are Mysterons, It's a Fire, and Glory Box. It gives me this X-Files vibe, dark 90s, grimy and spooky but also very beautiful, hauntingly so. Definitely will listen to this again.

Ok, este es de mis ÁLBUMES FAVORITOS DE TODOS LOS TIEMPOS. Me gustó encontrarlo acá, aunque era bastante obvio que estaría. La voz demasiado sensual, emocional y triste se mezcla con los sonidos envolventes y beats, es un manjar auditivo!!!!!

This was truly a great experience. I saw electronic and thought the worst but I immediately changed my mind. Trip hop is such a good way to describe this album.

I’ve been meaning to listen to this album since it came out. It did not disappoint.

incredible vibes for seems like such a simple composition. would be a great soundtrack if they ever make a metroid movie.

I haven't listened to this in the context of the list yet, but I've heard Dummy enough to know how I feel about it.

Love the trip hop drifty tones of Portishead. Like wading through light multicoloured treacle. Not music for a low mood though.

One of my all time favorites Absolute masterpiece

Certified unskippable. Foundational to trip hop. Intrinsically metaphysical.

God, what a great album. Not a bad track on it. Beth Gibbons voice is shy and light, but still versatile and often heartbreaking, and the vibe of the music is just perfectly cool and hip...in that 90s way, yes, but also with a nostalgic sense, too. Songs meant to be in fictional Bond movies.

Fantastic album

10/10 вайбовый альбом

Album foda, conceito, estetica e um trip hop incrivel, foda pra um caralhoo, vou escutar muito 9/10

One of my all time favs. Always a pleasure to listen 4.5/5

Great trip hop album

Been a fan for years. Love every track on this album

Kanon plade, dyster, hård, fed produktion dejlig stemme

It hasn’t been that long since I discovered trip hop, and that mistake is on my part. I already knew I would give this a five, but I still gave it a listen because why not. Maybe my taste has changed. Guess what? It is still an incredible album. I totally get that it is not for everyone, and there is nothing wrong with that. I would not listen to this album in the car, for example, but I love having it on in the background from start to finish. Cleaning, painting, reading, studying, less pure activities, it does not matter what. If you do not know how to fill the silence, just throw this album on. It is amazing. There is not much else I can add. Usually I give long reviews to albums I hate, but this? This is just too good.

I listened to this independently a few days before it arrived on this list for me. Whilst it didn’t grip me in the way similar trip-hop records have (Mezzanine for example), I still found this a wonderfully rich listen. And the string arrangement on ‘Roads’ is truly wonderful. To hear that song again for the first time…

Magnificent

portishead and beth gibbons i wish i could kiss your forehead, you can do no wrong. praise this album forever.

*Top 15 All-Time Favorite* I must have picked this up within days of its 1994 release, and it's been in heavy rotation ever since. It wriggles its way into my soul like few other albums. It's sensual, mysterious, a little haunting, and demands you bob your head like this: [demonstrates proper head bobbing]. Beth Gibbons' disintegrating voice, that low, deep bass, and all those chill grooves create a masterclass in mood. When you toast me after my time on earth comes to an end, "Roads" ought to be on the playlist. A quick aside about a moment in 2011 that altered my relationship with music in some meaningful way: Dummy always felt like music the gods birthed, a gift to romantic alt-rock kids stuck in small county hubs far away from the cities where this music must live. It was a feast of imagination wandering the rain-soaked Bristol streets after midnight every time I pressed play on my well-loved CD. And at that point, after 17 years of obsessing over every nook and cranny of Dummy, I had Beth's voice memorized, and every beat and organ note was wrapped around my fingers. It was spiritual, and loomed large in my life. Portishead is a famously hermetic band, rarely touring and releasing only a small handful of albums over the course of their career, all monuments. In 2011, they announced a tour, and we stood in line for hours outside the venue to get a spot right up against the stage. At some point in the show, Beth looked me in the eyes and reached out and touched my hand. Suddenly, like some kind of reverse Daphne, this goddess transformed into a real, touchable person. In the months that followed, I found myself listening to Dummy with new ears, hearing not something ethereal, but earthly; stardust turned into dirt. It grounded my listening in a special way, and it's affected how I listen to all music ever since, turning all these minor gods into real people with lives, souls, families, emotions. It's had a profound effect on my relationship with music.

So much nostalgia with this one, but I'd actually started listening to it again a year or two ago and I still really love it.

OH HELL YES I LOVE THIS ALBUM Thanks for the reminder to listen to it front to back again.

another album that i wasnt expecting to like much. it wasnt bad. I like atlantic city i saved that song

Ähnlich wie RATM eines der besten Debütalben aller Zeiten und auch generell eines der besten Alben aller Zeiten. Traumhafte Kombination von Beths zarter Stimme und diesen fetten Trip-Hop-Beats. Größter Fehler meines Lebens, dass ich beim Southside 2013 stattdessen bei Rammstein war (obwohl die auch sehr gut waren).

Ich kann nicht unbedingt behaupten, dass das zu 100% meins ist. Allerdings muss ich mit dem Versuch des objektiven Blicks schon sagen, dass das alles innovativ, technisch gut gelungen und durchaus auch spannend war. Vielleicht höre ich doch nochmal wieder rein. Also ne 4 kann ich angesichts meiner tendenziell wohlmeinenden Bewertungen hier nicht rechtfertigen, deswegen: Schwache 5.

Fantastic trip hop album. I’ve heard it before

i've listened to this more times than i can count over the years. i consider it their best album by far (skipped rating for It's a Fire since it's not part of the original tracklist) Mysterons - 5/5 Sour Times - 5/5 Strangers - 5/5 It Could Be Sweet - 4/5 Wandering Star - 5/5 Numb - 5/5 Roads - 5/5 Pedestal - 4/5 Biscuit - 5/5 Glory Box - 5/5 Average score: 4.8/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The beats, the voice, the music, all perfection. '90s never had it so good

Genre defining trip-hop album, the coolest spy movie soundtrack, and an update of space age bachelor pad music for the modern era. From the opening theremin in Mysterions to the Isaac Hayes sample in Glory Box this record does not stop. Downtempo beats, DJ scratching, spooky guitars all create the mood, but it’s Beth Gibbon’s voice that separates this from the pack. A breath of fresh air in 1994, does not sound dated in 2025. 5⭐️

Love this one, very moody. Wish I heard this when I was an edgy teenager.

Before: My first thought is it's a 5. I'm very familiar with the album already. I know there are a few 5 star tracks, and some 4's. I don't have a formal essential albums list yet, on paper, so to speak, but this one's definately in my mental list. Even if I don't absolutely love every track, this is without a doubt the best example of trip hop and is essential for that reason alone. During: So for this one, I've decided to rate each track: Mysterons - 5 Sour Times - 5 Strangers - 5 It Could Be Sweet - 3 Wandering Star - 4 It's A Fire - 3 Numb - 5 Roads - 4 Pedestal - 3 Biscuit - 4 Glory Box - 5 Avg = 4.5 After: Easily 5 stars.

portishead ist eh geil, beste

BEST SONGS: - Glory Box - Biscuit - Roads - Strangers - Sour Times

Like this one sm, i had listened to most songs upon receiving this album, fav might be “Roads” but idk

Really great. Establishes a mood with complex, layered sound that all fits together well and is lead by her voice with great instincts. Especially good listening for gray, rainy days.

This is a worldie. Talk about albums that evoke such unique moods, doing so in ways which would've felt groundbreaking at the time - Dummy is absolutely one of those. Atmospheric, smokey, sexual soundscapes, entwined with Beth Gibbons' heavenly vocals, a gentle low-end, wobbly bass that ebbs, flows and pulsates, and a sort of James Bond-vibe running through the album; Dummy sounds like it's from another dimension, yet it somehow retains more than a thread of relatability and humanity through Gibbons' soulful, but often anguished vocal expressions, with lyrical themes ranging from social isolation, navigating difficulties in relationships, separation/loss and the resulting insecurities that those issues bring. The whole album feels like an agonistic release and a cry for warmth, affection and and connection. Is this the ultimate "lazy day in bed" album to make love to? It's certainly up there.

Amazing, such a vibe, kinda mysterious

Love it

I find it hard to review this record objectively, because for several weeks in 1994, it was my world and listening to it again now, I’m 21 again, making music with friends and exploring a whole new world of music that this album referenced. I was first aware of Portishead through James Lavelle’s Straight No Chaser columns, and their name (misspelled as “Portashed”) appeared on a Mo Wax advert in the same magazine. The beats scene that Lavelle, Gilles Peterson and others were leading was opening our minds up to other genres, shaping a UK sound that was informed by hip hop’s spirit but was relentlessly tracking down new sounds from anywhere we could find them. “Dummy” is probably one of the great expressions of that scene and era, along with DJ Shadow’s “Endtroducing” and the relentless experimentation coming from Goldie’s Metalheadz label. So, why is it great and why should you care? For me, it’s one of the most gloriously realised albums of that period; they brought a fully-formed world with them. Beth Gibbons’ vocal delivery sweeps across such a range of personas and emotions without ever feeling like a novelty or that she’s showing off. The production is clearly informed by what was happening in NY hip hop at that time without ever being derivative, and the musical arrangements make gold from only very few elements. The tempos might be lower, but there’s no sense of this being a “mellow” (I hate that term) record; tracks like “Strangers" and "Wandering Star" move urgently forward, whilst “Pedestal” makes great use of pitched down beats and samples (an approach that was relentlessly copied by others) to create a disorienting, almost threatening mood. Although “Dummy" spawned a legion of dinner party trip-hop copycats who missed the original’s sense of grand drama, there are many more who took inspiration its cinematic vision; so whilst we might have to suffer Morcheeba, it’s tempered by Radiohead’s “Climbing up the Walls” and wonderful artists like Flying Lotus. In my opinion, it’s a wonderful record, one of the best of the 1990s, and certainly deserves to be considered amongst the greatest debut albums of any genre. I hope you love it too.

Excellent album. Alluring and mysterious vocals set to glacial beats. 5 stars for the theremin.

This is an amazing album. Emily introduced me to Portishead at Rosso years ago and very 5 years or so after I hear it and think wow. This is chilling and it slowly engulfs me..

Some of this album is on my getting ready playlist :) so sensual and dramatic

An absolute masterpiece. I've listened to this album countless times over the years and it never gets old. It's bright and gloomy, sweet and bitter, comforting and unnerving at the same time, like a moody black sun radiating hope and melancholy. The instrumentation and samples are plainer and soberer than in most trip-hop productions of the same era ; it's a masterclass in efficiency, with simple yet haunting loops, hypnotic basslines and impressionist scratches. Beth Gibbons' otherwordly voice shines all through the album like a beacon in the mist, and there's not a single filler track, everything is right where it's supposed to be. Not only the best trip-hop album ever in my opinion, but also one of my favorite pieces of music from the 90s in general. 10/10

another british empire classic

Triphop perfected.

Excelente disco! Vocais doces e impactantes. Muito rico musicalmente. QoA Cloudscape.

Incredible album, it’s so unique and has such a cool sound. Beth gibbons has such an ethereal voice. Sour times is one of my absolute faves.

💜💜

peak female experience

Superb, atmospheric album with great vocals, sampling, drum beats and instrumentation. Sounds even better on vinyl.

I can’t say enough about this album. It’s genre-defining, so much so that if you heard “trip-hop” for the first time and then listened to this album you’d immediately know it was that genre. Yet, in my opinion, it also stands above all of the other members of the genre. There is a purity to the music, thanks to Beth’s stunning voice, that pierces through the thick, trippy veil of the beats. Incredible musical contrast that gives it that otherworldly feel, like an angels voice piercing through the depths of hell, or a sliver of hope seen in the darkest of times. 1 of 1 and one of the easiest 5 star reviews I’ll give on this list

This is my first time listening to Portishead. Everything about this album was great. Turns out I love trip-hop. I love the jazz-meets-hip-hop rhythm section and I love her voice. 5 stars.

Loved it. 10/10

wow! haunting and melancholy. 5/5

9.5/10 - A masterpiece that is definitely an album you should listen to before you die.

One of my favorite albums of all time. This is the trip hop album and nothing compares to it. Great beats and vocals, perfect. 10/10

Just great. Interesting hearing some of bands trying to do similar things that are on this list. Very few get anywhere close to this.

Thought this was the coolest album ever when I first heard it. Must have listened 100 times more over the years and still feel the same way. If I ever open a smokey underground cocktail bar expect this to be on heavy rotation.

Really enjoyed this album. I hadn't listened to it in full for a while and forgot how many good songs there were on it. The album flows well and I think its an amazing trip hop album

Ending this ear fuck of an album on a song like Glory Box?? Insane

Possibly the coolest sounding album ever

Meanwhile, in the UK. One of the greatest all time debuts.

The trippiest of trippetty hop. ❤️❤️❤️

Tripity-hoppity. Turns out pretty formative on my tastes

Great trip hop album

I went into this listen not expecting it to be a 5 star, but I find it hard to rationalize giving it anything lower. I can tell that this album, if I choose to let it, will live with me and grow alongside me. The process they took with this album was completely original; it speaks to me now, as someone trying to figure out her own creative process. Each member of the group could easily make an amazing solo record but together they made a true monolith. I'm excited to listen again with headphones or on a decent speaker; a lot of my listening nowadays is confined to my built-in iPhone 8 speakers. For albums like this I can really tell how it shallows the experience.

THE trip hop album!

I've been wanting to listen to this album for quite some time. My entry to Portishead was "Roads" which is on the Tank Girl soundtrack. I fell for the song but didn't explore the group because...reasons (kids, work, life). This album is definitely getting added in my rotation. I would have loved this had it been released ten years prior when I was in high school. It would have fit my mood perfectly. This is a high recommend and people should listen to it at least once in their life.

Still sounds fantastic, haunting. Almost certainly my Favourite of the soundtrack to a film that was never made genre.

Oh yes! This is delicate, haunting, timeless. The best thing is that it sounds as fresh today as it did upon release. Such an original sound with beautiful vocals underpinned by evocative instrumentation and sampling. An absolute triumph of an album.

10/10 wandering star 12/22/25

I really got into this album a few years ago, so there would be no need to re-listen to rate this a 5. However, it is fun to revisit albums with this list that I haven't listened in a while, and find how my perspective has changed over the years. Or simply enjoy it once again. Very creative, dark and elegant. Sour Times, Wandering Star and Glory Box are still the highlights for me; and this time I've also really liked Numb. But really, the whole album is perfect; and gloomy in a very cool way. Beth Gibbon's beautifully chilling vocals mix perfectly with the groovy electronic textures and samples; along with the additional instruments. Genious production and work in general from Geoff Barrow. Good thing to remember why love this. 5/5

moody music time

Love this album. It's haunting and ahead of it's time. I honestly hear their influence on a lot of recent pop like older Billie Eilish.

Me encanta este disco. De los mejores discos de la historia o algo. Me encanta Portishead. Amo a Beth Gibbons. Es un disco que quemé muchísimo como hará 5 años, y me ha hecho mucha ilusión volver a escucharlo. Es uno de mis all-time favorites sin duda. El trip hop es uno de los mejores inventos de la humanidad. A veces lo único que uno necesita en la vida es a una intensa cantando bonito sobre un James Bond type beat.

Still hits.

Nagyon tetszett ez a az album. Még sose hallgattam hasonlót, de nagyon élvezetem ezt hallgatni. Nagyon tetszett ez az álomszerű hip-hop. A kedvenc dalom a Roads volt.

Absolute classic. Light 5.

Świetny album, produkcja na wysokim poziomie, idealny na klimatyczny deszczowy wieczór. Nie wsłuchiwałem się w tekst za bardzo, ale totalnie mi to nie przeszkadza bo albumu się słucha płynnie. 4,5/5

It's honestly kind of amazing that this is a debut album. I really like triphop, so it's hard to be particularly objective about this one. So goddamn moody in a way that wasn't really matched by their peers, making Portishead really stand out. If I had any complaint, I guess you could maybe trim 20-30 seconds off a few songs without losing anything, but honestly I enjoy the vibe so much that I don't really care. Also, I gotta rep the album most local to me so far.

Hearing this album for the first time started a multi-year love affair with trip-hop. Formative albums like this are what I save my 5-star ratings for. 👍Wandering Star, It's A Fire, Numb, Roads, Glory Box

Dope as fuck!

It was an amazing album. The production value was topnotch and the psychedelic vibes was cherry on top. An amazing listening experience from start to finish. 5/5

Still fresh sounding and unblemished by its association with the turgid nonsense of trip hop.

great album

Gran disco al que no suelo volver. En su día una sensación. Descubrimos a Beth Gibbons.

Brilliant atmospheric album.

This album just stays low energy and strong the whole way through, then Glory Box goes in for the haymaker to close out the round. I’ve heard the influence of this sound on grunge and it’s right at the confluence point of UK’s downtempo electronic beats at that genre. Beth’s voice is totally sending me. I really wish I had known about this band growing up, teenage me would have had this looping on her mp3 player.

An established favourite. Rich, complex, emotional, resonant, groundbreaking, flawless.

This album feels like a trip-hop version of Lana Del Rey for people who are too sad to listen to Lana Del Rey. Favourite Songs: Mysterons, Sour Times, Roads, Biscuit, Glory Box. Least Favourite Songs: It Could Be Sweet.

I'd actually been listening to this one quite a bit lately. I tend to lean towards debut albums as I like the less refined feel and this album in particular has a really distinct sound. Doesn't really have a low point across its decent length.

now this is a haunted dancehall

portis-jockey

As perfect as perfect gets. Great for nights. The perfect album for just trying to chill out. This is THE Trip Hop album!

What a debut. They say that portishead is music to cut your wrists too and it’s not necessarily wrong and that’s not necessarily a bad thing either. Sonically it’s great. Dark, brooding yet still grooving. Beth’s voice overtop is fantastic. There are so many good tracks here: “sour times”, “strangers”, “it could be sweet”, “numb” “roads” and “glory box” are all worth repeated listening.

sexy album. an album for the baddies

yah

It's Dummy by Portishead. One can make a case for it as best Trip Hop album of all time. A favorite of mine from the first time I listened to it. So dreamy, so perfectly wonderful.

Stone cold classic. Mesmerising jazzy guitar, electro beeps and squeals, hypnotic rhythms and plaintive vocals. Not sure how it’s not better known

very good yes yes also i listened to the other albums and they were also very good yes

Fantastisk!! Minder om min mor haha

jaaa

I love Beth Gibbons so much.

I've used the term "cream of the crop" already but good god, now this is it. I've heard this album a couple of times and every time it's such an experience, sometimes like floating through space and other times touching an oily hand rail, it has an outrageous amount of character. I started listening to hip hop as a genre around 5 years ago and as a result it's transformed my taste, and if asked what were the 10 albums that most majorly opened my eyes this would be on that list, and definitely on my top 100 albums of all time. The production is stellar, the vocals are incredible and breath-taking, slow and suffocating and yet beautiful and ethereal. Trip-hop is a genre I know only a bit about (i.e only the most formative groups) but this definitely is my frontrunner of the genre. Best song: Roads, followed closely by Numb Worst song: N/A Rank compared to everything else so far: 1/7 Trying something new with the formatting, we'll see how it feels.

Just a stunning album. I like my trip hop moody, and this delivers in spades. Beth Gibbons' haunting voice sings of loneliness and heartbreak over ethereal keyboards and lonely-sounding beats, and the overall package is of wandering some urban city late at night, with nobody else around, just taking in the loneliness. Fantastic stuff.

Already know and love this album!

One of trip-hops finest. Beth has the voice of an angle

Favorite track(s): Sour Times, Strangers, Roads, Pedestal

Almost perfect.

Crazy nothing like this has never come out since. Incredible and truly unique. Trip-Hop.

i've heard this in my dad's car a lot but this time i appreciated it more than ever. every single sound is so satisfying and feels perfectly placed in its spot. also it's fucking groovy 9/10 favorite: sour times

what an album. been a minute since i played it front to back but whew. textbook example of how to create atmosphere within an album. almost haunting, from the Beth Gibbons' voice to the sampling to the spins to the DRUMS oh my god the drums. Trip Hop or not, this album is nuts. I'm quite willing to say this album is perfect, I don't think there's much coming close to it anywhere. fav song: Glory Box

Sublime. In my opinion sounds as fresh as the day I bought it all those yrs ago Strangers is in my top 20 all time favorite songs & it could be sweet is just gorgeous lovelovelove it

This album is so physical. It could only have come to be in the 90s but is unlike anything else of the time. It FEELS like love and longing and ecstasy and loss sometimes within the same song. There's just nothing that does quite what this album does. An experience. Visceral.

I've been aware of Portishead but have never listened to them. As I've gone through this list (today is #198) I've enjoyed other trip hop artists, so I assumed this record would be coming at some point. I was quite pleased when the generator brought it today. I was also pleased to see such positive overall ratings, figuring I was in for a treat. I loved this album. I think Beth Gibbons' vocals are fantastic, especially on the tracks where she can let loose some like It Could Be Sweet and It's A Fire. And even though some of the hip hop elements are dated, they really worked for me in these songs. The only song I didn't truly connect with is their most popular one on Spotify, Glory Box. It was good, but I didn't love it as a closing song as it just had a bit of a different vibe than the rest IMO. That quibble will not be enough to take away from this being a five star album.

OK - this is the soundtrack on my university years. I loved it back then and I love it just as much now, this has not lost any appeal to me. The soundscapes are amazing, the music is calm and atmospheric but has this tension too. This is some of the best trip-hop.

This album is fantastic!

It's a very strong and coherent album. Way outside my usual taste but it stirs something. Glory Box is a perfect ending

Oooof I love this - sultry, moody, atmospheric. Time to go listen to a bunch of trip hop

Loved every minute of it.

💯

Was not expecting to enjoy this as much as I did. Lovely trippy James Bond type music. Glory Box is a great album closer.

What a coincidence — I had just watched a YouTube documentary about Dummy a few days ago. This album was definitely important in my youth. I even bought it back then — around 1997, when Portishead’s second (self-titled) album came out. The whole “trip hop” thing has sadly faded from today’s musical vocabulary — Massive Attack, Tricky, Portishead — but what was it, really? Hip-hop beats with sorrowful soul vocals? My problem with the record has always been this: it’s unquestionably fascinating and brutally honest music — and at the time, it was extremely cool and influential — but there were almost no situations where you actually felt like listening to something this heavy, dark, and ghostly. A few facts I still remember: the singer is Beth Gibbons (I think), and the best-known song is probably “Glory Box.” And I recall they released another album around 2008 with that incredibly harsh track “Machine Gun.” I’m playing the album now — for the first time in maybe ten years — to see if it feels easier to listen to today. The opener, “Mysterons,” immediately sets the tone: ominous, eerie, thick with atmosphere. Was this ever played in clubs? What are you supposed to do with this music? Dance? Get high? Probably just listen to it alone at night with headphones. “Sour Times” follows, built on that vaguely ’60s spy-movie sounding sample — “Nobody loves me, it’s true.” Great song. And then comes the one I always forget about until it hits me again: “Roads.” The saddest track on the album — maybe the saddest one in my whole collection. Brilliant, devastating. That magical moment at around 1:40 when it opens into the second verse and somehow gets even sadder: “Stoned in the morning light / I feel no more can I say / Frozen to myself / I got nobody on my side / And surely that ain’t right.” No, I don’t have to revise anything — I feel exactly the same as I did back then. An excellent, five-star deluxe album that I rarely ever feel emotionally prepared to listen to.

One of the best trip hop albums ever

I love this album from start to finish. This is known for popularising trip-hop on a commercial level. All the samples, sound effects, and record scratching come together and create an amazing sound for the trip-hop era, it manages to take me on a satisfying sonic journey. I really enjoy the mellow, atmospheric, and ambient side of their sound, it’s laid back but still full of tension. The jazzy addition in their instrumentation, from the saxophone, drum beats and deep bass lines, attracts me even more. Beth Gibbons vocals are very vulnerable and emotional, she embodies the mood of the music, very haunting and fragile. From the artists I know, there’s not much else out there that sounds like Portishead. They created something quite dinstinct here. Another classic that I had the pleasure to listen to and review from front to back. The album cover perfectly encapsulates their sound, the haunting, gloomy dark blue toned room contrasting with the harsh bright light and the woman at the centre, looking lonely and drained. It’s dark and vulnerable just like the music. Of course I already knew Glory Box their biggest hit from this album, but I really enjoyed most of the rest, Mysterons, Sour Times, Strangers, It Could Be Sweet, Wandering Star, It's a Fire, Numb, Roads, Pedestal and Biscuit too.

Favorites: wandering star, sour times, biscuit

One of the coolest scenes music has ever had. And this is a seminal album from that very scene. It’s moody, atmospheric and extreeeemly chill. Topped off with one of kind vocals that ring true and stay with you. On the edge of haunting. 5.0/5.0 Best Song: Sour Times

It’s truly one of the best albums of the 90’s. I can’t imagine how good it felt to listen to this for the first time when it came out. Must have properly felt like a shift, like music was changing. It’s such a uniquely cool album. I remember the first time my brother showed me Dummy (it’s a very older brother album to show someone) it felt like the coolest music i had ever listened to and it still does tbf. Best song: hard to pick, but Sour Times for me

Near perfection....

This album has an oppressive, suffocating beauty, but it is delicately sad. It’s so intense, it’s like wrapping yourself in a heavy invisibility cloak while you stalk through the dark night, to peer wistfully into some lost lighted haven. It’s gorgeous music for the witching hour, and it haunts you long after the closing sounds of Glory Box. I love this album.

Rock oscuro, he reconocido algunas canciones muy conocidas. Me ha gustado mucho.

Opium

One of the finest

Literally became one of my favorite albums. Impeccable all the way through.

This one was a great discovery, one of my faves so far. Five stars

Mysterious and dreamlike. Enjoyed

Unique style, warm and mysterious sound

Oh, Portishead. You wacky fucks. You can crash my party anytime. Hypnotic, sparse, heavy, plodding, and cool as hell. A little repetitive, but that's the nature of this genre. I'm sticking Dummy right up my Glory Box.

Still holds up super innovative experimental sexy creative. First 2 songs are so good that it doesnt matter anything after yet all are well constructed and have a common thread. Amazong album ground breaker