Contributed By: Corey Bolton
Created On: Tuesday, 17 June 2008
Hits: 56
 The Rip 'The Rip', like the rest of the 'Third' album, is about as bloody-minded as it’s possible to get whilst still retaining the services of a major record label. So, whilst the blanket marketing around this release would suggest we should all hear it, Portishead have done their utmost to avoid serving up anything approaching an easy listen.
Whilst it doesn’t take Freud to work out that vocalist Beth Gibbons isn’t about to break for a career in stand-up anytime soon, instrumentalists Geoff Barrow and Adrian Utley have built a track that’s tellingly contrite in its very de-constructivism. Angry and genuinely seething where others artfully brood, the layers of 'The Rip' sit mono-like and seemingly unmixed, whilst the song structure itself jettisons convention for a feel that’s wonkily work in progress.
From similar pop prisons did Talk Talk walk such a wary way, managing two whole albums before they imploded: the sublime 'Spirit of Eden' and 'Laughing Stock'. Both of which were challenging, but ultimately delivered understanding through what were initially difficult early listens. But for me, in this instance, I’ve consumed the ideas of 'The Rip', and that leaves Portishead circa 2008 as, unfortunately, a prickly musical maelstrom of their own making that I don’t need to ever hear again.
 
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