Above all, Portishead are about context. Call it ambiance, or texture, or concept: regardless of the term you use, at their root they are a band who exist as a framework and can call a framework forth. The symbiosis between these two seeming opposites is at the very heart of their sound and appeal, for theirs is music that envelops you as you envelop it, that creates what you were feeling and feels when and what you are creating. This has always been true of Portishead, even when they were producing curious pop morsels like “Sour Times,” or when their eponymous second album was the soundtrack for every chill-out and make-out party of 1998. They’re undeniably heavy, even if they haven’t always been remembered as such.
I say all of this as a preface to Third, which seems to have been treated thus far as a betrayal to fans that have been waiting a decade for new material from the UK trip-hop trio. It’s true enough, in a way: Third is their least amenable album to date, and their least friendly. The eerie melancholy that has always been a kernel of their sound has grown up into full-blown fright and panic, the shy sexuality abandoned for something muscular, aggressive, even psychotic. Put another way, you will not be chillin’ nor hookin’ up to Third. In fact, Third requires and brings into being a particularly poignant brand of solitude.
Yet despite the work it requires, Third is far and away Portishead’s most accomplished, mature, and gratifying album, its marriage between dystopia and fragile hope so thoroughly of this moment that I almost can’t imagine listening to anything else these days. “Machine Gun” mixes incessant thrusts of violence–synthesizers that march, well, like machine guns–with Beth Gibbons’ inimitable wounded vocals, which are no match for the cacophony that surrounds them yet still somehow manage to survive through the war. The odd howling of “Small,” the alien pleading of “Threads”: these songs are sculptures, rendered from the problems of modern humanity and pulling you, forcefully, into existential contemplation. Sour times, indeed.
Don’t have time to search out this week’s essential MP3s, streams and viral videos? That’s why we’re here.
Death Cab For Cutie “I Will Possess Your Heart”
The first single from Death Cab For Cutie’s forthcoming album, Narrow Stairs, clocks in at nearly nine minutes and sounds far more frightening than anything the band has done before.
(Sixeyes)
The Breeders “Bang On”
Next month the Breeders return with another Steve Albini produced gem, Mountain Battles. The second track is stark, fuzzy and features the Deal sisters harmonizing over lopsided club beats, “I love no one/ No one loves me.” Genius.
(Stereogum)
The Stooges “Ray of Light (Live at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2008 Induction Ceremony)”
Even though The Stooges have yet to earn a plaque on the wall, Iggy and his old band mates were more than happy to pay tribute to the decidedly un-rock and roll Madonna at this year’s induction ceremony. It’s as shirtless and surreal as you might expect.
(YouTube)
Dave Grohl and Will Ferrell “Leather and Lace”
Not the first two names that come to mind when casting the Don Henley and Stevie Nicks story, the Foo Fighters’ frontman and the “SNL” alum nearly make it through this tender cover without completely cracking each other up. The best part is that this expletive laced performance was for a benefit concert for kids.
(YouTube)
The Kooks “Young Folks”
To get fully psyched for the second album by the young British rockers, immerse yourself in this satisfyingly messy cover of Peter Bjorn and John’s ubiquitous hit with guest vocals by Canadian singer Simon Wilcox.
(I Am Fuel, You Are Friends)
Portishead “Silence”
How does the first new Portishead song in 11 years sound? A bit like scanning the radio dial in South America while watching a chase scene in one of the more recent James Bond movies. Dark and scary.
(I Am Fuel, You Are Friends)
The Ting Tings “Great DJ”
An excellent shouty electro-pop track from hyperactive Brit boy-girl duo made even better with this sleek club makeover courtesy of Mr. Harris. “The drums, the drums, the drums. . .”
(Check The Availability)
R.E.M. “I’m Gonna DJ”
The second leaked track from R.E.M.’s Accelerate hits even harder than the first, with Michael Stipe once again alluding to past glories: “I’m gonna DJ at the end of the world.” And he’ll feel fine.
(The Swill Merchant)
The Rolling Stones “You Can’t Always Get What You Want (Soulwax Remix)”
An incredible reworking of the Stones classic that surgically removes the original rhythm section and replaces it with some seriously messed up robot rock. It sounds like a mistake, but only in a good way.
(Digital Eargasm)