Portishead's newest works haunting witchcraft

Today is Halloween, and somehow this review of Portishead's latest offering is most appropriate. The songs on Portishead, their second major release, are like the interiors of a haunted house, each a chamber of spooks and secrets. It's ominous and a little freaky, but you're drawn to it, hypnotic-like, curiosity overpowering you. And before you know it, you've been sucked into a parallel universe, where everything is twisted and hands are grabbing at you from all sides.

The music is not terrifying or violent by any means, but rather wicked; it leaves a chill down your spine in a juicy sort of way. Call it Scooby Doo meets trip-hop meets the moody vocal experience that is Beth Gibbons. Portishead's distinct sound and feel owes a lot to Gibbons, whose singing runs the gamut from a distorted cackle to a last breath.

This album is noticeably different from Dummy, the band's debut release, in that her voice is allowed a lot more variation, presence and sheer volume. Some of the songs are reminiscent of the Gibbons we know: sultry, subtle, pain-filled. But other songs introduce a new side to her: naughty, slightly unbalanced and far more threatening.

For example, in the opening song, "Cowboys," her voice comes lashing in, whipping all ears into shocked attention. It's as if Gibbons has suddenly come out from the shadows, Mr. Hyde style. But the result is anything but hideous; in fact it's intoxicating. Gibbons is casting a spell to which the listener falls victim; seduced and unable to resist her powers.

The music - a great amount of which is comprised of samples Portishead composed from scratch - also contributes with its dull moans, scratches, distorted guitar jangles and sinister, flickering noises like the glow of a jack-o-lantern.

The spell continues with the second track, "All Mine," which is also the album's first single. The beat is insistent and dangerously drowsy, the brass blasts are both an assertion and a warning. Gibbons chimes in, deceptively sweet and benign, until suddenly her voice becomes discordant with the music, the trumpets summon again and the listener has been trapped into submission.

The lyrics themselves reflect the same act: "make no mistake, you shan't escape, tethered and tied, there's nowhere to hide from me. All Mine." And it is this last declaration that she wails with a crushing, high-pitched force that leaves the listener weak and bewildered.

"Undenied" opens with a grim vibraphone lullaby that plays through the entire track. Here, Gibbons retreats back to her milder self but the eerie quality still remains. It evokes images of a tortured spirit, a ghost roaming in the dark recesses of the house, unable to rest due to a deep, unbearable pain. It is a love song, Portishead-style, where the power of the lover leaves her full of anguish and humility instead of joy.

The sixth track, entitled "Humming," is perhaps the most delicious song on the album. The first minute and forty seconds is filled with nothing but haunting strings and a trembling moog-like melody, just the kind of spooky background noise one would expect to hear in a house of ghouls. The beat that eventually kicks in is punctuated by a deep, three note pizzicato that creeps up with suspicion at the beginning of every bar. At six minutes, the song runs extremely long. But "Humming" is so slick, crafted and engaging that the length is welcomed.

The album is satisfying and intriguing throughout. Overall, it is more dynamic than Dummy, but it sticks to a similar style and convention. In this sense it is not a completely new album but rather an evolution out of its predecessor. But this time around, the effect is more intense and forceful because it is less safe. They've taken the same evocative edge and pushed it to a new extreme that is much harsher but more fulfilling at the same time.

It is always difficult to follow up an impressive debut with a second album that is just as fresh. Portishead has managed to complete the task with secret pleasure. It is so good, it almost seems planned, as if they were deliberately holding back before so that this album would have a more stunning impact. Even the album title choices suggest a certain calculation. Dummy was the test, Portishead is the real thing. It make take a little getting used to, but as far as album picks go, this is definitely one of the treats of the year.

All Mine: Portishead's long-awaited follow up to their Dummy debut is just as haunting, and more intense. (photo by London Records)