Portishead Machine Gun Review
Beth Gibbins and Co. Return with New Track from Upcoming Album Third
Trip Hop alumni Portishead release the fantastic "Machine Gun" their first single from new album Third, their first in over a decade.
Portishead preview their new album, Third, with thundering new single “Machine Gun”.
Now available for download via 7Digital, the single begins a new era for the band that hasn’t produced a studio album in 11 Years.
“It sounds nothing like Dummy or Portishead,” guitarist Adrian Utley told Billboard speaking of the band’s first two albums, “but it’s definitely its older brother or sister”.
Machine Gun Shoots High
The beats on “Machine Gun” pound heavier than the squashed electronics and eerie guitars resonating on previous efforts, adding a new dimension to their music while still retaining their distinctly dark sound.
Built around a repetitive drum beat mimicking the blast of a machine gun round, pre-programmed drum machines haven’t been put to such good use since New Order released “Blue Monday”. Creepy synths float above the hectic beats to underscore the return of Portishead.
Beth Gibbins still sings like the jolly corpse she has always been. “I saw a saviour, a saviour come my way, I thought I'd see it, the bold light of day”, she breaths while a ghostly Gibbins-waif hums in the background, floating in and out like a poltergeist in your earphones.
Harder drums break in mid way and erase Gibbins all together, replacing her with a jet stream sound before the song takes yet another dramatic turn bringing broken piano noises to the forefront.
Despite the heavy hitting, “Machine Gun”, sounds melancholic and delicate, like the soundtrack to a bittersweet epic war film inflenced by Nine Inch Nails.
Portishead Release Overdue Third Album
Fans of Dummy and Portishead have been waiting a long time to hear this Bristol, England band’s return to music and “Machine Gun” doesn’t disappoint. While distinctly different from previous material, Portishhead have come full circle on this track. Fans should quickly forgive the band for making them wait over 11 years.
Though they formed back in 1991, Portishead have only produced three albums to date. Despite being media shy and refusing to do promotion for their debut album, Dummy, it won the prestigious Mercury Music Prize in 1994, beating out stiff competition from contemporaries Blur, Suede, Oasis and Pulp.
Portishead are currently on a European tour in support of their new album. They bring their act Stateside for a one-off gig at Coachella on April 26.
“Machine Gun” is currently streaming on the band’s MySpace web page and is available to download at 7digital. The band doesn't plan to release subsequent singles in support of their new project. Third, the new Portishead album, comes out April 29.
