The end of music

Now would be as good a time as any for me to stop listening to new music. Of course, I won't, because I can't not listen to new music. But Portishead, with "Third", have released the album to end all albums. It's hard to know where they, and music in general, can go from here. The game, perhaps, is up. At the very least, an unexpectedly dark and heavy (and frequently beautiful; don't forget that) gauntlet has been thrown down. It goes without saying that I can't imagine hearing a more necessary album this year, or for that matter for many years to come. As is so often the case, Marcello Carlin is saying, one day at a time, all that needs to be said.