Portishead @ Corn Exchange, 12 Apr

An unyielding talent, easily transcending time
Event preview by Beth Malone.
Published 01 April 2008

It's pretty baffling when a band can release just two albums and garner not only vast international acclaim but maintain a loyal fanbase long after they disappear into obscurity. With the release of their last album in 1997, Portishead's sound hit an icy fever-pitch combining Geoff Barrow and Adrian Utley's sonically-engineered scratches with Beth Gibbon's detached, hissing vocals. During their ten-year hiatus many imitators unsuccessfully tried to reproduce their subversive trip-hop style. With their reemergence they've crawled out of their self-contained world to produce a third album that is mellower than those of the mid '90s. It seems that classic claustrophobic sound has loosened its grip on the Bristol trio. Humble, yet always provocative, Portishead are sure to bring self-awareness and assuredness to their forthcoming live return; establishing, once again, that they are an unyielding talent, easily transcending time. [Beth Malone]

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