Courtesies That I Despise: Portishead’s Dummy Turns 30

Set aside your fears of life

Beth Gibbons of Portishead

Audiophilia’s not normally my custom so please indulge me zooming in on a real nerd thing: The snare on Portishead’s “Mysterons” is the finest ever programmed. So crisp, so perfectly distorted from the rattle of artificial wires beneath the sampled head, it makes even an Akai S1000 roll like a drummer marching off to war. It’s not the first sound you hear on Dummy but like Dave Grohl charging into “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” it’s what breaks down the door to an album you might remember too subtly primarily from stoned sex. Even circa the boom-bap golden age you’re hard-pressed to find percussion parts that delight the ear like Geoff Barrow’s whipcrack simulated drumrolls.