Customer Reviews

Isla

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I saw them live in Montreal one month ago wjere they played this album almost entirely. WOW! It was really pleasant surprise!
Those young guys play with soul and passion, and they are excellent musicians.
I've just ordered their album from Amazon and can't wait listening to it.
Highly recommended!

A brilliant record, that cements Portico Quartet as one of the most interesting musicians in contemporary jazz. Free-jazz meets minimal, in this hypnotizing recording, that delivers from start to finish. I recommend this record, without reservations, to lovers of jazz and minimal classical/ post-minimal.

This band was an easy like for me. For the last few years I've been pulled into the developing world of modern moody and electronic jazz, and last fm delivered this little jewel to me. The steel drums work wonderfully with the other more traditional jazz elements on display from this quartet, and I've listened to this album and Knee Deep In The North Sea several times with only minimal complaints (the worst and only truly annoying tracks on either album are both Track 6, coincidentally) and a growing sense of admiration for how young and talented these musicians are. Their sound has an ageless maturity about it, polished and yet seemingly improvised, sounding like a film soundtrack and a sleepy jazz club jam session all at once. It's really a treat.

Similar bands: The Cinematic Orchestra, Bonobo, Skalpel, Xploding Plastix, Jazzanova, Contemporary Noise Quintet/Sextet, Hidden Orchestra.

A very polished album (their second) and hauntingly beautiful. Their first album "Knee Deep in the North Sea" is excellent but Isla adds an extra dimension to the hypnotic rhythms that they generate in this much more studio-oriented and less like their busking roots album.
It's astonishing that they started playing outside (there are some great videos on the web that capture the atmosphere) before they were "found". G A great success story and they deserve it.
The music relies heavily on the unique tones of the Hang, a type of steel snare drum, for want of a better description, but the saxophone and base rhythms are great too.
I await their next album with interest.