Double-disc omnibus of live and remixed career highlights
7/10
Hopefully, this isn't the case with ex-jazz now-electronica outfit Portico Quartet. Less obsessed with hang-pans and more concerned with glass-shattering laptop-powered frequencies, the London outfit's transition from chin-stroking to head-nodding audiences is to be applauded, if not always enjoyed. Their self-titled 2012 album was perhaps a step too far for some of their older and loyal audience-members, given that electronic atmospherics dominated many of the tracks thus making the whole exercise rather less human and, occasionally, un-exciting than the preceding full-length set, Isla. Still, never knock a band for moving on and experimenting with technology.
This album's title is at least descriptive of its contents, if a little unimaginative. Disc one is a lengthy journey through live renditions of tracks from across their career, most of which makes better sense than their recent studio work. City of Glass and Ruins leap from the speakers and Clipper shuffles with all the celestial prowess of, say, Ornette Coleman or Herbie Hancock at their most funky. In an auditorium, Portico Quartet's busy arrangements and rich textures work a treat, most of which you can experience on this CD.
Disc two collects up various remixes of the band's work with a mix of the sublime (Will Ward's motorik reading of Window Seat), the bass-heavy (Line given a thorough funky stepping up by SBTRKT) and the triumphant (Luca Lozano, take a bow for your refix of Laker Boo). The remainder does sweet little else, sadly.
It doesn't all gel but these 19 tracks serve as a timely reminder of Portico's timelessness and creativity, although a live CD/DVD might have made more of Portico Quartet's strengths than a gaggle of distracting re-rubs.