We open the album with a dark hip-hop backing beat, which obviously concerns me. Thankfully a female vocalist shows up and starts actually singing. This song would fit really well in the background of a movie like The Matrix or Sucker Punch (for all 3 of you who actually saw Sucker Punch). Basically a dark and haunting action type movie with kung-fu. I get the same vibes from "Sour Times" with some added Victorian-era instrumentation. Maybe not actually Victorian-era but an older style sound that makes me think of old London or whatever. It's pretty neat.
"Strangers" has a long section that sounds like it was recorded during the 1920's. The song is still dark and haunting but in a more badass kinda way. It doesn't sound like a sad song in any way, more of a street-fighting song. "It Could Be Sweet" has a really soft beat, and makes me realize that every song so far has had a soft beat, even the song I called badass. If I were to try and classify the music of Portishead based on the only 4 Portishead songs I've heard in my life, I'd call it lounge-blues music you'd hear in a bar in New Orleans played over hip-hop beat tracks.
The songs are really pretty and have interesting construction. I just wish it didn't all have to be so sad. For instance, the chorus of one song goes, "Wandering stars, For whom it is reserved, The blackness of darkness, forever." I would point out that even the weakest star produces it's own light, so things wouldn't be dark even if the star were a rogue between galaxies.
I'm also annoyed by the overuse of scratching. It seems Portishead felt the need to include a vinyl-scratching sound effect on every song. I wonder if the band features a guy who's only job is to stand by a turntable and make scratching noises.
I don't know. I maybe sorta liked Dummy but can't really figure out why. Maybe because despite the album being so bleak it wasn't offensively so like other bleak bands have been in my journey. I appreciated the soft touch. So I'll give 3 stars.
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