Once fusing electronic music and jazz on fantastic albums such as Isla and their 2012 self-titled LP, Portico Quartet were one of the most interesting modern music groups to come out of the UK. However, the band's undergone a few major changes as of late:
1. They're now a trio. 2. They're now known simply as "Portico." 3. They're signed with Ninjatune.
They've got a new album on the way as well titled Living Fields, and "Bright Luck" is the first track to drop from it. The song is a stylistic change of pace, finding the band leaning less on their jazz background, and more on the current trend of ethereal, exploratory, R&B-tinged electronic pop. Jono McCleery's vocal performance is quite wonderful, but I can't say the instrumental does anything other than make way for him, really. While I don't mind this track, I hope the band is still able to showcase their instrumental muscle and finesse on some of the deeper cuts here as well.
Look for Living Fields on March 25th.