Music to move to

The new album from Portishead, Third, is a very welcome addition to my collection in what has been a fairly quiet few months for new albums, apart from obvious latest releases from Radiohead, Sigur Ros and P J Harvey.

Third rocks, in a trip-hop electro-funk sort of way. It beats and growls and purrs its way through eleven tracks in a compelling way that gets you moving feet, hands and head without realising that you are doing it. The sudden change of mood half way through The Rip is worth the admission price alone.

Having played Third a few times in a row on my iPod touch I am now back to using my iPod Shuffle for listening to music during the day where Third joins a mixed collection of albums that includes: Black Sabbath, Vol. 4; Blondie, Blondie; Brett Anderson, Brett Anderson; Neil Young, Chrome Dreams II; Hawkwind, The Emergency Broadcast System Samples; Sparks, Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins; Sigur Rós, Heim/Hvarf; John Watts, It Has To Be; Queen, Sheer Heart Attack; Marc Bolan & T.Rex, The Slider; The Tea Party, Splendor Solis; PJ Harvey, White Chalk; Rush, 2112.

Looking at that list in the cold light of day makes me realise just how much I still like the music from the 70s!