Portishead - Third

After a ten-year recording hiatus, Portishead returned last year with their most challenging, and some might say unclassifiable work to date. Dense, claustrophobic and more than a little morbid, on first listen Third seems every bit as enigmatic and aloof as the band members themselves. Geoff Barrow constructs an infinitely detailed sonic canvass incorporating elements of free jazz, jarring field recordings and dissonant motorik rhythms. Beth Gibbons, meanwhile, has never sounded so fragile and alone – a haunting voice seemingly at the end of its rope. In truth, there’s something more than just music at work here, and this is an album that’s still revealing its many layers some eighteen months after its release. Terrifyingly great. (Paul Harrington)