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The recent upturn in the fortunes of the British
weather make this the perfect time for Port O'Brien to
lap gently in on the evening tide with a collection of
summery acoustic folk tunes you won't be able to help
but fall in love with.
All We Could Do Was Sing is the second offering
from the Oakland duo of Van Pierszalowski and Cambria
Goodwin, and follows on from 2007's collection of
self-recorded early songs The Wind And The Swell,
which gathered enough critical acclaim to keep them in
the neon glare of the muso headlights.
From the delicate fragility of Stuck On A Boat or
Valdez, to the psychedelic dreams of Fisherman's Son
and Alive For Nothing, these are sea shanties for the
modern world, at times turbulent and dark, more often
foam-sprayed and uplifting. Drenched in guitar
harmonies, they just prevent themselves from drowning
in melody, nowhere more so than on the instrumental
Rooftop Song.
Lauded by M Craft, tour buddies of Bright
Eyes and Modest Mouse, the nursery chords
of Don't Take My Advice show you why their talent and
their sensibilities appeal to so many. There are
echoes of Conor Oberst's depth throughout their lyrics
and music, nurtured as beautifully as his songs so
often are - especially in the half-whispered Will You
Be There?
In some ways, once you get past the stomping
folk-punk opener Woke Up Today, Port O'Brien are a
gentler, quieter, Magic Numbers, stripped down
and de-popped for a gentler crowd. Their music is
instantly accessible, in places perfectly catchy - My
Eyes Won't Shut, for example, which conjures up
imagines of a Californian Kirsty MacColl, if
you can entertain such a thing. It's homespun without
sounding homemade, the sound of peeling, salt stained
picket fences and neat lawns that look out to sea and
dream of romance.
And then Port O'Brien will throw you for a loop.
Just as you think you've got them pegged, out comes In
Vino Veritas, lodged somewhere between a paranoid
radio transmission and Victorian music hall, entirely
different from its predecessors but none the worse for
it. This itself morphs into the shouty, more furious
Close The Lid, a raw and once again different side to
their sound.
You could feel you're being cheated by learning
that they have no plans to tour the UK in the near
future, but somehow this seems only fitting. There's a
distance to their music, as if they're floating away
on the horizon, just out of reach. It's worth
savouring them that way.
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