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Portman: From Here To Your Eyes and Ears

19th February 2008 | by Aidan Williamson

"The aeroplane and the radio have brought us closer together. The very nature of these inventions cries out for the goodness in men; for the unity of us all. The way of life can be free and beautiful, but we have lost the way."

With the sampled words of a Jewish barber from Chalie Chaplin's “The Great Dictator” begins the debut album of Peterborough, U.K's Portman. With the sampled words of Serenity's River Tam - set over 500 years later - the album ends. “We tell them what to do, what to think. Don't run, don't walk. We're in their homes and their heads and we haven't the right.” Thus is the struggle for the good of humanity within the tool of technology embodied throughout “From Here To Your Eyes and Ears”.

Pretty weighty concepts for a band whose songs wouldn't seem out of place on the first Brand New album, but Portman have taken their influences (The Get Up Kids, Hot Water Music, Sunny Day Real Estate, The Appleseed Cast and Last Days of April) and given us something not remotely British, but thoroughly experimental, unique, engrossing and enjoyable.

Their strongest suit is their firm grasp on song dynamics, the boys know exactly when to kick up the gears, when to let a song flow gracefully and when it needs slamming the handbrake on and performing a U-turn Gene Hunt style. “Those Left Behind” and “Back To Default”, for instance, would both by-the-numbers acoustic ballads if handled by any other band, but Portman open the curtain behind the performance and let the resplendent beauty of the universe (lots of atmosphere) flood in.

Even the potentially cheesy is handled with aplomb, the vocal intro for stand-out track “We Are Nihilists Lebowski” ('I have stopped a speeding train, took a bullet to the chest and felt no pain, seen the bottom of an infinite abyss, but never felt as out of my depth as this. I've ascended to the top of the highest summit, deflected apocalyptic comets, and it was all for nothing.') look like admittedly good teenage poetry on paper, but when delivered as perfectly as they are here, transcend their potentially juvenile nature to something capable of readying the tear ducts. Especially when combined with the tortured refrain of “We don't believe in anyone or anything anymore”.

Producer, synthist and programmer, James K. Sanford proves to be a feather in the cap for Portman, he is a man not afraid of chaos, but knows how to reign it all in at a moments notice, and his remix for final track “The Last Broadcast” is truly exceptional, and we're not just being biased because he's an obvious Whedonite. He does, however, seem to be a little too in love with the sound of the cymbals on the record.

The only slights on it's excellence present are the rather redundant “Can't Stop the Signal”, which is superseded in themes and lyrical content by “The Last Broadcast” and the under-par vocal performance on the heavy moments of “Whatever Next”, which aren't particularly helped by the lack of any real melody. True to their dynamic selves though, Portman turn the latter track around in it's last minute with the skill and surprise of a Russian army repressing invading Nazi forces.

Whilst the rest of the nation seem to be busying themselves with superficial songs about nights on the town and annoying siblings and partners, Portman have quietly given us a truly masterful album which will touch more than just your eyes and ears.

Rating:  8 / 10