Port-Royal – 2000-2010: The Golden Age of Consumerism

Genoa's Port-Royal have been mining a vein lying somewhere between symphonic, free-floating post-rock and melodic electronica for over ten years now; The Golden Age of Consumerism is a double-CD retrospective encompassing material from their three albums, along with rarities and remixes.

The early pieces marry ethereal, Mogwai-style delayed guitar arpeggios with light-footed, crisp beats, reminiscent of Aphex Twin's more benign moods; a charming mixture, and one which Port-Royal have honed to perfection. On the later work, the sonic textures are less anchored in rhythmic structures, characterised instead by drifting clouds of melodic noise that evoke Tim Hecker's melancholy soundscapes.

Many of the remixes, which dominate the second CD, feel less assured than Port-Royal's own material; they evidently struggle to embed alien samples within their delicately-constructed sound world cohesively. Overall, though, this is a deserved reminder of an outfit that have played an overlooked part in the development of the post-rock/electronica aesthetic. [Sam Wiseman]