AshcanRantings: Portastatic

Even though I left UNC and the Tar Heel state in 1997, my blood still runs Carolina Blue and I'm still partial to anything from Chapel Hill.

Portastatic is no exception. Leah and I saw them open for Wilco last month, and I was thoroughly impressed. Their latest album, Bright Ideas, has been out since last year, but it's nice to circle around and give albums a second look.

Conner Oberst (Bright Eyes) wrote the following about the album:

The first Portastatic album to be recorded in its entirety in a proper studio (Tiny Telephone in San Francisco by Tim Mooney of American Music Club and mixed by producer icon Brian Paulson) it once again features excellent drum contributions by Mac’s brother, Matthew McCaughan, as well as bass work by fellow Superchunkist, Jim Wilbur. Although the trio makes up the bulk of the powerful performances, Portastatic remains a flexible entity willing to incorporate whatever instruments and players are needed to fulfill the promise of the song. From the summertime rock anthems of “White Wave” or “Soft Rewind”, to the eerie Americana of “Truckstop Cassettes”, to the beautiful lullaby “Full of Stars”, the record deepens with each listen. It expands on themes of disillusionment, frustration with the world, love of friends and family, the battle between regret and hope, and the blurry stream of events that connect the past to the present and bring an increasingly terrifying future into focus.

April 27, 2006

Portastatic