Third
- Scores: Noise 3, Unease 4, Complexity 3 (each 1 to 5)
- Genre: Rock, Electronic, Art rock
- Mood: cold, brittle, unsettling
- Sound: trip-hop, electronic, spare
Third is where Portishead moved away from their trip-hop sound and took on krautrock rhythms, synthesisers and harsh drum sounds. The band recorded it in their own Bristol studios between 2005 and 2008, deliberately avoiding instruments they had used before. Geoff Barrow played bass, Beth Gibbons played guitar on "Threads", and the tracks use a Minimoog, Korg MS-20, ARP 2600 and EMS VCS 3, with the arpeggios on "The Rip" built by recording each note separately. There is no turntable scratching, and the album has abrupt endings, cathedral organ and a synth outro inspired by John Carpenter's soundtracks.
Track list
- Silence (4:58)
- Hunter (3:57)
- Nylon Smile (3:16)
- The Rip (4:29)
- Plastic (3:27)
- We Carry On (6:27)
- Deep Water (1:31)
- Machine Gun (4:43)
- Small (6:45)
- Magic Doors (3:32)
- Threads (5:45)