Classic Albums. Hosted by Stevie Nix
Not all albums stand the test of time, but plenty do and Australian music critic Stevie Nix will bring one to you each week. He'll cover all eras and most genres and tell you why each record is so revered and, equally, why it deserves to be. And he only uses six songs to do it.
Classic Albums. Hosted by Stevie Nix
Dummy by Portishead
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The album's genius lies in its refusal to comfort. Despite spending decades soundtracking intimate moments and dinner parties, Dummy is fundamentally unsettling music. Where its title might suggest something soothing — a pacifier for comedown culture — it instead tastes metallic and bitter. The album sustains a singular, enveloping mood for 50 minutes, a carefully constructed atmosphere where every element exists to serve despair in its many variations. Portishead's achievement was in creating something so idiosyncratic that it transcended its influences, yet Dummy never feels derivative. Its obsessions are too specific, too doggedly pursued, and ultimately too strange to be mere synthesis.
Featured songs:
Mysterons
Sour Times
It Could Be Sweet
Roads
Numb
Glory Box