Portishead is slated to release their first studio album in 10 years, Third, sometime in the spring. After such a long hiatus, worries begin to pile up and fans (those of us left) can’t help but be a little nervous about the new project. Hip-hop sounds entirely different from what it was a decade ago. What if Portishead sounds dated or, even worse, the trio tries to stay current with trip-hop renditions of Lil Mama’s “Lip Gloss”? What if the album is akin to Beth Gibbon’s lackluster solo project? It’s obvious that Beth herself knows how it feels to be in the grip of intense emotions, so to calm fans lingering fears, Portishead just posted a new video for “Machine Gun” from the forthcoming album. I hesitate to say what they are actually doing on the song, but it doesn’t sound like they are biting Joni Mitchell or Lil Mama and, I’m more than grateful for that.
March 24, 2008
