So many good things happened in 1994. KVRX's stream hit the radio waves, and for trip-hop fans, Portishead's debut album Dummy marked a significant milestone for the genre.
First coined in a Mixmag article just a year before the release of Dummy, the term trip-hop describes a genre defined by the blending of hip-hop and electronica. A quintessential trip-hop song includes slow beats, jazz instrumentals, sampling, and even film scores. In Dummy, Portishead manages to include all those elements in 11 songs, totaling a respectable 49 minutes.
The cover of Dummy is a still from the band’s very own short film, To Kill A Dead Man, which follows a woman whose husband fakes his own death. When she discovers that he isn't actually dead, she decides to get her revenge by hiring the assassin to kill him. The film features Portishead both acting and playing the soundtrack.
Pressing play on Dummy, we are first drawn into Portishead’s world through the mesmerizing “Mysterons.” The song features a theremin-inspired synthesizer and record scratching along with Beth Gibbons’ enchanting vocals. The song ends on a nihilistic note, Gibbons telling us it's “All for nothing / Did you really want.” The song fades out and thus begins one of my favorite tracks on the album, “Sour Times.”
Sampling Lalo Schifrin’s 1968 “Danube Incident,” which was originally written for the More Mission: Impossible film, “Sour Times” takes on a mysterious air as Portishead slows and lowers the pitch of the original tune while maintaining the rolling percussion. Using these alluring instrumentals, Portishead creates the ultimate break-up song, with Gibbons claiming: “'Cause nobody loves me, it's true / Not like you do.” The yearning continues into the bridge as Gibbons asks “Who am I, what and why / 'Cause all I have left is my memories of yesterday / Oh these sour times.”
The next track, “Strangers,” opens with a horn sample from Weather Report’s 1976 track “Elegant People.” A Björk-esque beat quickly picks up and dies out for some softer stringed instrumentation and vocals. The more intense beat returns with Gibbons asking us to "Just set aside your fears of life.”
In the following song, Portishead reminds us that “It Could Be Sweet,” as a strong 808 beat including a prominent staccato rim shot backs lyrics about the fear of losing someone you love. Gibbons switches from her usual melodic style to a more spoken word inspired delivery as she tells us: “But the thoughts we try to deny / Take a toll upon our lives / We struggle on in depths of pride / Tangled up in single minds.”
“Wandering Star,” opens with a strong driving beat, maintaining a simplicity in its instrumentation and vocals, which are layered with record scratching and a sample from Eric Burdon & War’s “Magic Mountain,” often isolating the harmonica amidst the pulsing beat. This beat fades out into “It’s A Fire,” one of the slower tracks on Dummy The song is characterized by a blend of synth and organ sounds set to a drumbeat that highlights the ballad-style singing.
“Numb,” originally released as a single, samples Ray Charles’ 1954, “I’ve Got a Woman.” Strong percussion and bass allow for a return to Portishead’s signature “mysterious” sound as Gibbons tells us, “And this loneliness / It just won't leave me alone.” The track is followed by more mellow “Roads,” where we are asked “How can it feel, this wrong,” as guitarist Adrian Utley makes ample use of the wah pedal.
More record scratching and a drum machine lead us into “Pedestal,” Gibbons singing in her usual sultry style saying: “You abandoned me / How I suffer.” Her suffering continues in “Biscuit,” as she tells us, “It's just I'm scared / Got hurt a long time ago / Can't make myself heard / No matter how hard I scream,” and promises “I'll never fall in love again.”
Dummy ends on its most famous track, “Glory Box.” Sampling Isaac Hayes 1971, “Ike’s Rap II,” Portishead breathes new life into the moody bassline and violins. In one of my favorite songs of all time, Portishead creates a sound dripping in both yearning and sexuality, Gibbons begging, “Give me a reason to love you / Give me a reason to be a woman / I just wanna be a woman.” Her enchanting vocals seem to switch between pleading and anger with Utley playing a wailing solo over the sampled beat.
Since its release in 1994, Dummy has been loved by trip-hop fans and music nerds around the world. Listening to the album evokes feelings of longing and love lost, transporting listeners into their very own film noir. For fans of Dummy, check out some KVRX-approved trip-hop bands in honor of both the album and the station turning 30 this year! Personal favorites of mine include Cibo Matto & Smoke City.