delayed-albums music pictures Virgin Media
The received wisdom in the music biz is you record an album, release it, tour it, and have another one written and ready to record when you've hauled your weary bones off the tour bus. An album every two years should do it – three years if you've not quite worked out all the settings on the new synth/sampler/philharmonic orchestra you're planning to use. Right? Well, as Portishead's Third shows us – 11 years since its predecessor hit the shelves – it doesn't always go according to plan. Hailed as pioneers for 1994's Dummy, 1997's self-titled follow-up brought a darker edge to their style. And then? A glacier's pace as the gap between second and third albums grew from years to a decade-and-counting. Thankfully the end result is none too shabby.
