Amazon.co.uk Review
Re-working a selection of tracks from both
Dummy and the eponymous
follow up,
PNYC demonstrates how the recorded can translate equally well into the live, given a little inspiration and creativity. Drawing on full string and horn sections and turntablist intervention from Andy Smith, they explore live soundtrack angles, lacing the original versions with measures of Lalo Schifrin, Barry Mancini et al. Although some may be sceptical at the lack of new material, they shouldn't be put off. As the neo-classical sounds of "Glory Box", post rock of "Sour Times", brazen brass jazz of "All Mine" and theremin-led hip hop of "Mysterons" all comfortably cohabit the same place, managing to re-work and re-charm their way into your sub conscious.
PNYC is a class delivery from Portishead, from the arrangement and production to the performance and orchestration.
--Found Sounds
Description
PNYC captures Bristol, England's Portishead live, a situation which presents a particular challenge to a band so closely associated with studio experimentation. Portishead's sound, however, is built around the otherworldly vocals of Beth Gibbons, who immediately dispels any notion that such a performance needs to have anything canned about it. The spontaneity is helped along by a stunning palette of guitars, which combine with the the band's imaginative turntable work to create a thrilling, bombastic and unpredictable live experience.
PNYC opens up with the swell of a string section, and quickly dissolves into the menacing, orchestrated strains of "Humming", over which Gibbons gives a stirring vocal performance, every bit as spontaneous as the rhythmic scratching which weaves in and out of the song's organ-based backdrop. "Over" features a particularly seductive voice-guitar intro, which mutates into an epic, gargantuan bass-synth groove. Guitar textures are, in fact, a prominent feature throughout PNYC, notably on the rocked-up, tremolo-soaked six-string thatdominates the live version of the band's signature tune, "Sour Times".