Portishead
Dummy
»
Portishead
Dummy
Go!, 1994
RiYL: James Bond Theme Music, Tricky, Massive Attack |
Album-opener "Mysterons" has an odd sound at its opening that instantly brings to mind a cheesy '50s horror film. The synthesizers and organs of "It's Fire" conjure a half-dozen romance pictures. And the album's best-known track, "Sour Times," could be the centerpiece of almost any psychological thriller.
The single-note guitar lines have a tone unlike any I can remember, except maybe the treble guitar figures of an old spy film. Lead singer Beth Gibbons croons with a voice both white and soulful, and along with the funky drums, album scratches and humming organs, gives this score its seductive underbelly.
The record on the whole makes me wish I could spearhead the production of a James Bond flick with this soundtrack as a starting point for the plot's emotional core. The film would be directed by a visualist like Spike Jonze or Jonathan Demme, and it would star none other than Sean Connery. This film necessitates creators capable of matching the drama, mystery and cool of a performance of this music.
To be honest, the hardest part of actually making a Bond movie for this album would be figuring out which song James takes his lady to bed during. I mean, Dummy has plenty of drama, but it's fairly short on action of the bang-bang sort. Its first half feels like a series of short surreal sexual scenes, better suited for the other kind of "action."
The second half seems to drag, but not in a bad way. As a listener, you begin to get caught up in the details of each song. You become entranced by its flow and hypnotized by its beat. Like a classic film noir, the plot becomes far too convoluted and confusing, but it doesn't matter. The weightlessness of the songs pulls you into another world.
Take for example "Roads," a violin-laced tune with an incredibly cinematic crescendo. Gibbons pours her heart out as the guitar's tremolo accents her emotion. By its end, you feel like you have become attached -- even addicted -- to the dark feel of the music.
Dummy is a fresh, bizarre, experience, built only with simple beats and bass lines taken from songs you barely recognize. It taps into your subconscious. After a few too many listens, you will wake up one day and find yourself a Portishead zombie. Sitting on the subway, riding in your car, dozing off at work, you listen to the songs as they play the theme music to your life.
BEN FRENCH | Ben founded NATN in the winter of 1998-1999 with fellow IU alums Troy Carpenter and Jonathan Cohen. During the day time, he's working for Nielsen Business Media, publisher of Billboard. Ben's favorite acts include Bruce Springsteen, The Clash, Sonic Youth, Elvis Costello, Talking Heads, Rolling Stones, and the Beach Boys.