Port O'Brien - Threadbare

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Tonight's review is of an album that is the perfect complement to the post-feast torpor I'm experiencing.

"High Without The Hope 3", the first track on Port O'Brien's Threadbare, sounds like it came drifting in on a mist over the barren heath pictured on the album's cover, and into the dreams of Port O'Brien. It's a great way of setting the mood for an album which is all about mood. The prevailing mood is one of gloom, but it's a lived in gloom that doesn't evoke so much sorrow as empathy. The songs that follow don't stray too far from the soporific tones of the album's opener, and even when the brisk, R.E.M.ish "Sour Milk/Salt Water" comes along (and later "Leap Year"), it remains tempered by the overall low-pass equalization and murky reverb that define much of Threadbare's sound. The music is, for the most part, minimal in scope, which serves the spirit of the album, but does occasionally venture into broader musical territory, as in "Calm Me Down", which sounds a bit like Band of Horses, and also pays tribute to that band's penchant for anthemic ballads. This is a very nice album, and if it doesn't necessarily beg repeat listenings, it will at least continue to treat you well, like a warm friend, if you decide to make some return visits. 3.5/5

Threadbare - Port O'Brien