Portishead

So the other day in Spanish, Profe pulled up his Facebook profile and his status said something or other about Portishead, a super cool band. I had been introduced to Portishead briefly, but was not too familiar with their stuff. I knew they were super obscure tho so I just blurted out "Le gusta Portishead?", cuz I was way surprised right?

Well. As a result, my entire Spanish class (and teacher) thought I was some Portishead buff or something when in actuality I hadn't heard more than a couple of songs a loooong time ago. That afternoon, I amended that right quick. Thus, the latest blog topic:

Portishead. Specifically, their third and latest album, appropriately named "Third".

It's awesome.

Portishead first released an album over a decade ago, making only three album releases since 1994. Why so long? Who knows, but each album seems to be better than the last so they must be doing something right. What I find most impressive about the band is that their sound really hasn't changed that much. Music has changed DRASTICALLY over and over since 1994, but they transcend mainstream and have stayed true to their sound while improving on the formula. That formula...is a mystery. The vocals are imperfect but soulful, almost from another age. Then to combine them with such an electronic, synthesized instrumental track...its magic. I could never adequately describe their majesty, so you'll just have to hear them for yourself:

Listen through the whole thing. The songs are in album order.


For more Russell family insights on this album, here's a link to my brother's blog post (from a year ago tomorrow) about the same album. There's a sample song and everything!