Rolling Stone (5/13/99, pp.79-80)
- Included in Rolling Stone's "Essential Recordings of the 90's."Rolling Stone (3/9/95, p.66)
- 3.5 Stars - Very Good - "...Assertive rhythms and quirky production save Portishead from languishing in any coy retro groove. Instead they manage yet another--very smart--rebirth of cool..." Spin (p.134)
- "[They] combined odd sample noises and instruments with haunted vocals....A perfect pop album." Spin (9/99, p.140)
- Ranked #42 in Spin Magazine's "90 Greatest Albums of the '90s." Spin (3/03, p.118)
- "...Turntable wicky-wicky, film-noir theremin, hammer dulcimers, and the tearful vocals of Beth Gibbons... Entertainment Weekly (11/18/94, p.108)
- "...mixes cocktail keyboards, spaghetti-western guitars, eerie tape loops, and dub-wise rhythms into what could be called `acid cabaret'....as musically compelling as it is emotionally chilling..." - Rating: A- Q (12/99, p.82)
- Included in Q Magazine's "90 Best Albums Of The 1990s." Q (6/00, p.66)
- Ranked #61 in Q's "100 Greatest British Albums" Q (10/94, p.125)
- 4 Stars - Excellent - "...perhaps this year's most stunning debut album..." Alternative Press (7/95, p.116)
- "...On their debut, instrumental wunderkid Geoff Barrow and torch vocalist Beth Gibbons draw on grooves from Isaac Hayes to the present to create dark, dense tracks that inspire gentle rocking instead of frantic pumping..." Village Voice (2/28/95)
- Ranked #14 in the Village Voice's 1994 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll. Mojo (Publisher)
(p.62)
- Ranked #35 in Mojo's "100 Modern Classics" -- "[S]loping beats, inventive samples and freaky melodies create an unsettling emotional topography." Mojo (Publisher)
(1/95, p.50)
- Included in Mojo's "25 Best Albums of 1994" - "...A stunning, stylish first album." New York Times (Publisher)
(1/5/95, p.C15)
- Included on Neil Strauss' list of the Top 10 Albums Of '94 - "...The eeriest and most original dance-music album of the year." NME (Magazine)
(8/12/00, p.29)
- Ranked #29 in The NME "Top 30 Heartbreak Albums" - "...An easily accessible, but still richly emotional new sound for the beginning of the '90s." NME (Magazine)
(12/24/94, p.22)
- Ranked #6 in NME's list of the `Top 50 Albums Of 1994.' | 
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