Since the Portishead entered the seemingly eternal hiatus post-ThirdGeoff Barrow plays his project-or-now-main-band Beak> alongside Matt Williams and Billy Fuller, reaching his fourth album in 2024, >>>> (or Beak 4).
If you don't know what the trio's music is, a shallow definition could be to label them as post-rock, and to place it even more precisely in the band's history, they started out very experimental with >became more palatable on the following two albums (>> e >>>) and now they are neither one thing nor the other (laughs). Ok, maybe leaning more towards its roots, but not that much.
The guys' formula involves kraut, psychedelia, dub, various electronics and so on, but the mix is malleable, without a rigidity that ties them to this or that genre/style. And in general, everything they produce is very dark and VERY influenced by Silver Apples e Can (as well as the aforementioned Thirdby Portishead). Just listen to “The seal”, the second track from >>> and certify.
Maybe this album isn't the best gateway to Beak>'s work, but frankly I think it doesn't matter where you start to get it; their music is not easily digestible and even in the most accessible moments Barrow's voice scares off the unsuspecting (laughs), but it is precisely in this strangeness that makes them so interesting in this homogenized world.
And perhaps if it hadn't been released just 15 days after the confessional and beautiful “Lives outgrown”, by Beth Gibbons, it would have had a greater reach (even among Portishead fans). But that's just a guess.
In any case, one of my favorite albums here in this 2024, which is heading towards the end. Listen straight away and without expectations.
PS: the dog with laser beam eyes on the cover of >>>> is Alfie, the trio's deceased mascot.
Source: https://pequenosclassicosperdidos.com.br/2024/11/19/beak-2024/
