Review Summary: Portishead takes us on a Space Odyssey.
There is a hypnotic effect that comes from music. No matter what emotion is being evoked from a song, if the music interests us enough, it possesses us to feel the same emotion. And even enough, music has the ability to take us away from reality and descend deep into our mind. It's almost like meditation. The atmosphere that is produced by Trip-Hop revolves around these type of effects, it's music to get lost in. Trip-Hop has many fathers ranging from Hip-Hop, Electronica, Rock, to Downtempo, but the atmosphere is similar to music like Psychedelia, how it recreates the feeling of disorientation caused by the psychoactive drugs that helped invent it's sound.
Portishead, along with a variety of artists, shaped Trip-Hop's characteristics and would become the leading voices to promote the genre. In 1994, Portishead released their debut album,
Dummy. In all of it's Lo-fi production lied an ambient sound driven by emotion. There was a dark tone to the lyrics spoken by Beth Gibbons, whether they were derived from feelings of melancholia, drug-induced euphoria, or sexuality. Their second album,
Portishead, delivers the same recipe, only it's psychedelic influence is much more embraced. The album opener,
"Cowboys", immediately sets off that gloomy, yet disorienting effect we've come to expect from the music of Portishead. Beth Gibbon's voice soon enters with a malevolent tone, with lyrics about the effects of deception. Beth Gibbon's voice, again, steals the spotlight. From the very first words, her voice is so demanding of attention.
"All Mine", changes in style but that dark mood remains. This time, Beth Gibbons speaks about a relationship. Expressing the obsessive feelings that romances conjure up inside of us, as well as the frustrations they can strain on the heart. Her vocal delivery, the emotion felt is uncanny. The music that decorates her voice is orchestrated dexterously with her deliveries, going from a soothing touch in the verses and erupting a powerful delivery in the chorus.
There are some new territories touched in this sophomore album, or at least some that weren't fully explored.
"Half Day Closing", shows a different approach to the music as Beth Gibbons is not the center of attention here. It's all about the sounds the instrumental members can create, and it's a trancing psychedelic atmosphere, very reminiscent of the Space-Rock passages found in the early Syd Barrett era of Pink Floyd.
"Humming" is another example of the Space-Rock effects, containing lengthier psychedelic passages.
"Over", displays yet another change in style as it sets off with a haunting acoustic introduction. It's restrained, but this is only to add to the theme of the lyrics which seem to speak about a drug-induced state, that stage where one enters that bordering line between imagination and reality. The song eventually erupts into a series of electrical effects, but the recreation of that "down" feeling caused by drug-induced euphoria still remains.
This album definitely takes the listener to a stranger realm. The instrumental arrangements, in particular, truly shine in this one. Beth Gibbon's delivery was the main attraction of their previous release, but there is a better balance in this release, as both the vocals and instruments take their turn in the spotlight.
"Western Eyes" would be an example of how both sides of the music share the attention. The music is much more restrained in the beginning, to let Beth Gibbons take over with her soothing voice. That melancholic piano does the job of setting the mood, the song lacks the overabundance of psychedelic effects that are featured in most of the songs, letting it's simplicity drive the emotion. The song also features an out of place sample of guest vocals by Shawn Atkins, but it's short and doesn't interrupt the moody flow.
A question the fans might ask is, does the music of this album live up to the critically acclaimed content of their previous release? Yes, but with a different face. The approach in music shows an emphasis on atmosphere, and a more experimental side. This is another classic in the Trip-Hop genre, with an emphasis on "Trip".
