Portico

By Mike Tofin

Vancouver’s Portico had a good idea for their newest LP First Neighbours: teaching hip Canadian history throughout their album to get better funding from the Canadian government. They also include slow drawn out melodies that incorporate the odd novelty instrument, with addictive, dissident chord structures. On the album’s third track “I Heard There’s Proof,” the melody gets exciting with a repetitive “woo hoo” sequence as a vocal track. Friends of melodrama won’t have to stop staring at the floor or take your hands out of your pocket to fully enjoy this one. “Unreunion,” Neighbours,’ fourth song, provides a catchy, withdrawn relation to a past relationship that will never mend, but draws resonance by the song’s hook, “I don’t even care if we can’t talk/we can always fuck,” proving that there is enough light in the world to maybe convince you to shake your hips and raise your chin enough for a timid glance at the girl across the floor just long enough to crack a smirk.

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