PORTISHEAD
Portishead
GO! BEAT / LONDON

"Is it all just as it seems/So unresolved so unredeemed," croons-and I do mean croons-Beth Gibbons on the long awaited second album from the British band who more or less invented trip-hop. While the loneliness and longing that permeate these eleven stunning tracks may speak to the unredeemed, Portishead itself is in no need of absolution. The gothic meltdown of their sound, like a Sixties soundtrack bleeding into the ears of a Nineties DJ, creates a mood in the listener's mind so complete, so haunting and so distinctive that it almost feels like one has just exited a movie so powerful that reality seems to pale and flicker for just an instant. True perfectionists, Geoff Barrow and Adrian Utley actually recreated the sounds that filter through these tracks like cigarette smoke, as opposed to merely sampling ancient sources. The result, combined with Gibbons' soulful, ethereal voice (which she wields like a scalpel), is a dreamworld where the darkly bittersweet realm of the heart is turned into a dirge of liberation. Funky, thoughtful, poetic and unique, Portishead may be the album of the year. And if you think it's a bit gloomy, listen to Geoff Barrow: "If people think we're too dark, fuck 'em…they can go listen to the Spice Girls."

O.E. Ochs