BONUS: Buy Portishead's Third on vinyl and receive a coupon for a free download of the entire album in MP3 format, redeemable at PortisheadDownload.com

I know you've all been waiting for another installment from our favorite downtempo/trip hop trio Portishead. Well, here it is! And we only had to wait like 10 years. Like many of you I'm sure, I was in middle school when Dummy came out. When I heard it I was in love. Their whole sound was so unique and unlike anything else at the time. Even still, no one really does what they do. You can put them in whatever box you want, but I think ultimately they stand alone. When I first listened to Third I guess I was expecting/hoping it to sound exactly like their other records. It doesn't. But the more I listen to it, the more I realize it has all the elements of what we already love about them, it's just presented differently. The beats are actually more sparse, but almost with an industrial/metallic sound. Not like NIN industrial, so don't freak out. It just doesn't have that certain smoothness that came with their earlier stuff. Check out "Hunter(1)," "Rip(2)" or "Nylon Smile(3)" if you want start out with something familiar. But then please, branch out. Listen to the whole thing. It will grow on you. Vinyl version is a limited edition 2LP in a beautiful gatefold sleeve. 11 tracks; 50 minutes.

reviewed by RikRok