I first listened to Portishead’s “Third” on a drive home from Berkeley, CA after a friend picked it up at the Amoeba record store up there. This was about a year and a half ago. I was of course familiar with Portishead, since my sister had turned me on to them in middle school during a particularly dreary summer. It was a stoned summer. Funny thing about my lazy summers in Souther California: they often amount to just nothing. It’s stagnant. I’m always making tons of plans but the overbearing heat inspires sweaty retreat. My main jam was the cool and longing “It Could Be Sweet”.
Anyway… my first listen to “Third” was surprising, because for me, it was a completely different Portishead. Yet, this new sound seemed like a natural progression. They still had that chilling and ambient mood, still moody as hell, and still really sexual–or rather sensual. I was surprised by the new sounds and original arrangements. It seemed very crafted and yet really experimental.
So I was REALLY excited when I heard that Portishead was working on a new album. If anything, their last one “Third” assured me that they are still capable of performing not only solid work, but in also reinventing themselves, creating and experimenting and finding imaginative ways of looking at old sounds and creating new music. “Chase The Tear” is one of their newest songs. It borrows, from what I’ve read, a sort of Krautrock-inspired sound. It’s droning and pushing, what I fantasize driving on the Autobahn would be like. Beth Gibbons’ voice is slightly distorted and strained, but it’s a kicking song. If anything, it makes me really excited for their new CD.
mp3: Portishead, “Chase The Tear“
Go and buy the track here as it helps Amnesty International. Love ya!!
