Source: Atlanta Journal and Constitution, October 9, 1997

Grade: B
PORTISHEAD
"Portishead"
Atlantic. 11 tracks.

Portishead grabbed the attention of critics in 1994 with its relentlessly melancholy trip-hop opus "Dummy," which spawned the
radio hit "Sour Times." The group's second full-length album continues "Dummy's" sad, somnolent tone, adding a layer of gaudy
grandeur. The lead-off track, "Cowboys," is a cagey take on the James Bond theme of the '60s. Vocalist Beth Gibbons is an
acquired taste ---her melodramatic mewling on such dirges as "Over" and "Mourning Air" will annoy some. But when she and
the band lock into a gloriously gloomy groove, as on "Cowboys" and "Seven Months," all is forgiven.

By: Doug Hamilton