it's been a bit quiet on the music listening front lately
actually have in my possession a bunch of donated/procured cd's
awaiting my listening pleasure so tonight a start is to be made
portishead put out an album in the early 90's that was well loved
though it mostly passed me by - but this one has had some glowing reviews
it comes with the hugely imaginative title for this the 3rd album from the band
silence
you gotta love lo-fi - sounds like a south american radio broadcast
followed by some off-key kind of electric guitar strumming
with some equally harsh sounding electronica, strings, drumbeats
quite a fast beat then in comes that voice - the one and only beth gibbons
did you know what i lost?- did you know what i wanted?
hunter
a slow, slow lead-in with her almost suicidal voice again leading
echo used in the production and some light instrumentation
then electronica cranked up and dropped in the mix for contrasting effect
nothing too original is my thinking but nothing too unpleasant either
after 2 tunes you would suspect they have picked up where they left off
nylon smile
it's all about the voice you see - it's the single obvious point of difference
there's some chaps in there having fun noodling away with electronica
maybe in this case also some real skins in the drum department
the intention is to keep things deliberately monotone-ous while she despairs
i don't know what i've done to deserve you - i don't know what i'll do without you
the rip
ok ease up on the electronica, bring forward the acoustic guitar
stick it in a large room with some echo and again let beth do her thing
then just when it seemed to be predictable wind up the melotrone-like sound
leading to quite a fast-paced tune with the electronica sounding very familiar
yes - there it is - someone with some influence is a joy division fan
plastic
ouch - this one is album-filler material if you ever heard it
get the impression someone has suggested improvisation is kind of cool
which is quite valid in the hands of those who have paradoxically practised it
but here it just sounds like a bit of a waste of time and a reason to avoid it
an out-of tune voice, annoying electronica, and worst of all it probably isn't improvised
we carry on
which is presumably not some tongue-in-cheek title for this middle track
but it is more of the same - echo-production, gibbons-voice, military-drums
joy division-ish guitar so obvious it sounds like a sample but is not
but it's the fingernails-on-the-blackboard electronica that really grates
not happy - i know someone will love this but it isn't me - next!!!!
deep water
oh cute - it's a strummed ukelele with beth laying in the vocals
i've drifted into deep waters - alone with myself - i try not to struggle this time
and then for a complete change a barbershop-quartet style vocal backing
i gotta remember don't fight it - even if i don't like it - deep waters won't scare me tonight
at 1 minute and 37 seconds it's a pleasant relief from what has gone before
machine gun
an obvious name for the rapid-fire fuzz-based electronica at the fore here
get the impression with this one that 2 composers have been at work
she provides the lyrics and the voice on this poem-song
he churns out a very monotonous and unappealing electronic noise-beat
it does sound analogue-ish but boards of canada are much better at it
small
acoustic guitar, echoes, plaintiff vocals - starts interestingly enough
then the monotonic electronic noise machine comes in again and takes over
though also with a real drummer and what sounds like a hammond organ synthesizer
which immediately conjures up memories of a group from the 60's who they are imitating
portishead setting controls for the heart of pink floyd from their early days
magic doors
which is another odd title considering the last tune also gave a huge nod to the doors
a real drum sound and cow-bell leads off on this tune before beth again steps in
some nice piano chords and a dirty production technique make it quite interesting
it's almost catchy except for some odd noise-bridging things happening in the middle
again it sounds like anything but a tune recorded this side of 1980 - intentionally so no doubt
threads
the album closer - could/should be interesting to leave a warm and fuzzy feeling
restrained, slow, melancholic, organic, beth again sounding close to tears
this one again proves that portishead are a trio of very distinctive parts
she on vocals, one he in charge of traditional drums/percussion, other he making noises
this tune almost works thanks to the dominance of drums and held-back electronica
summary
for fans only - not an album to warm to quickly and therefore to be handled with caution - a lot of analogue electronica mixed with an unmistakeable voice
