Portishead

Latest Articles

Schoolboy Q | Habits & Contradictions

Top Dawg Entertainment (2012)
Without much that can be considered "structure" in terms of the verse-chorus-verse standard, Q confidently wobbles through an album's worth of jaded bangers.
By MICHAEL C. WALSH | January 31, 2012

Photos: All Tomorrow's Parties Festival at Asbury Park, NJ

Asbury Park, New Jersey | September 30-October 2, 2011
Bands perform at the All Tomorrow's Parties Festival at Asbury Park, New Jersey on September 30-October 2, 2011.
By K. BONAMI | October 07, 2011

Paranoid Social Club really are out to get you

Club-house rules
Hopefully by now you've heard the first single from Paranoid Social Club's new Axis IV , "Count on Me," and you don't need a whole lot of convincing that this is the record you'll be listening to all summer.
By SAM PFEIFLE | May 18, 2011

Gravity and grace

Mono’s tender post-rock gets even bigger
Like most post-rock bands worth their “post-rock” tag, Mono — who come to the Middle East this Friday — just can’t help sounding immense.
By REYAN ALI | May 25, 2010

Review: Various artists | Tru Thoughts Covers

Tru Thoughts (2009)
Brighton-based label Tru Thoughts emerged at the dawn of the millennium with hit down-tempo/IDM acts like Bonobo.
By GUSTAVO TURNER | September 15, 2009

Delayed gratification

At long last, Autolux returns
"It's the most bizarre, perverse thing," admits guitarist Greg Edwards over the phone from LA. "I don't understand why people haven't abandoned us completely."
By MATT PARISH | September 02, 2009

Shudder to think

Chill out this summer with Goose Bumps, Vol. 3
With the tools available to electronic musicians — software and limitless collaborators available through the Internet — the only limiting agents are ambition and work ethic. Well, talent, too, but that can be as easily wasted as ever if you don’t know how to use the platforms available to you for putting it on display.
By SAM PFEIFLE | July 08, 2009

Puracane | I've Been Here the Longest

Astraea (2009)
Released by San Francisco groove merchants Ubiquity almost a decade ago, Puracane's debut Things You Should Leave Alone was an interesting if oddly timed proposition.
By GUSTAVO TURNER | June 09, 2009

2008 Listravaganza!

An absolute glut of cruelly reductive Top 10 lists from our dedicated staff of tirelessly enthusiastic writers
We are not at all sick of bands with animal names yet and seem to have a soft spot for Erykah Badu that we kept very hush about all year.
By BOSTON PHOENIX MUSIC STAFF | December 31, 2008

Year in National Pop: New attitudes

Are we fated to pretend?
Are we fated to pretend?
By DANIEL BROCKMAN | December 22, 2008

Spiritualized

Roxy, July 30, 2008
Like fellow studio-friendly trance band Portishead, Spiritualized know how to bring their aural soundscapes alive in real time and space.
By STEVEN LEE BEEBER | August 04, 2008

By | January 01, 0001

Fuming through the dog days

Five new albums to soundtrack a passive-aggressive summer
In preparation for another three months of endless days and sweaty nights, here are five new albums to get you through the summer.
By CHRISTOPHER GRAY | June 18, 2008

Journey to the surface of the Earth

Landscape anew at Mass MoCA, ‘Exposure’ at the PRC, Dana Clancy at the Danforth, and grouped figures at GASP
Looking at the landscape brings out the artist in everyone.
By RANDI HOPKINS | May 13, 2008

Portishead

Third | Island
It’s a welcome step into new territory and a more than satisfying downer dose to set against the onset of sunny days and ice cream.
By MATT PARISH | April 22, 2008

Dancing in the Dark

Cat Power at the Orpheum Theatre, February 7, 2008
If you’re a Cat Power devotee or even a casual fan, you’ve heard the horror stories about Chan Marshall’s live performances.
By MEGAN V. BELL | February 12, 2008

UGK

Underground Kingz | Jive
Underground Kingz is not quite an instant classic, but it would be hard to deny that UGK have reclaimed their throne.
By MATTHEW GASTEIER | September 18, 2007

Natalie Walker

Urban Angel | Quango
It’s all soothing, but Walker’s never too sweet.
By KEN MICALLEF | January 14, 2008

Freedom songs

The sonic growth of the Mars Volta
The Mars Volta’s new Amputechture (Universal) is the first album the Los Angeles–based prog-punk ensemble have made that doesn’t have a unifying story line.
By MIKAEL WOOD | September 26, 2006

Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited

Various Artists| Verve Forecast
Mark up another score for the seductive spirit of Serge Gainsbourg.
By SIMON W. VOZICK-LEVINSON | August 01, 2006

On the Racks: May 30, 2006

Sophie Barker, Les Claypool, and Peeping Tom
Plus, Jamie Lidell and Herbert get in the mix.
By MATT ASHARE | May 31, 2006

Sarah Harmer

I'M A MOUNTAIN | Cold Snap/Zoë
A fetching Canadian songstress who'll appeal to No Depression readers and NPR listeners but doesn’t make a lasting impression beyond the confines of a suddenly crowded niche.
By MIKAEL WOOD | February 22, 2006

In Wynton's silhouette

Apple gets jazzed up
Wynton Marsalis’s iTunes exclusive Live Session — featured in Apple’s recent “Silhouettes” TV ad — is proof enough that jazz is as downloadable as any hip DJ mash-up.
By ADAM GOLD | January 28, 2010

Mozez

SO STILL | Apace
To the electronica-lite of Zero 7’s 2001 debut, Simple Things , Jamaican-born Mozez brought hot buttered soul and Marvin Gaye assurance, the former church singer wrenching real soul out of a pure digital frieze.
By KEN MICALLEF | January 23, 2006

Liverpool's latest

The overlooked brilliance of the Coral
Last year, though word barely reached the States, the Liverpool scene came back to life, with the Zutons, the Stands, and the Coral leading the resurgence.
By KEN MICALLEF | January 17, 2006