Port O' Brien - All We Could Do Was Sing
So much for any port in a storm – at times All We Could Do Was Sing barely even musters a breeze
Fittingly, Port O' Brien's debut LP sets off like a storm. A giddy bluster of bass and percussion, the elasticated I Woke Up Today precipitates a shower of euphoria into the ear-sockets’ saturated harbours. But rather than continuing with such full-blooded gusto, the Oakland-born quintet blows itself out with a stream of tip-toeing strum-a-longs. Wedged within the fissure between Annuals’ cathartic dalliances and the brittle psalms of Mountain Goats, the achingly drab Don't Take My Advice and Will You Be There? stroll along blissfully, yet without rousing a modicum of interest. Pigeonhold's frazzled axe cranking at least perks the attention with a blizzard of piercing drone, yet such promising moments are too often blurred by uncertain plateaus like In Vino Veritas or The Rooftop Song. So much for any port in a storm – at times All We Could Do Was Sing barely even musters a breeze. [Billy Hamilton]