Isla

"Kombinationen af inspirationskilder, de konkrete kompositioners karakter og kvartettens kunstneriske udtryk og niveau (foruden de strygere, der i et enkelt nummer medvirker) - alt dette løfter oplevelsen af den i sandhed revitaliserede og globaliserede jazz op på et ekstraordinært interessant plan. Portico Quartet fornyer i dén grad den moderne jazz".

"Are Portico Quartet really a cut above the average jazz, or is it just that somewhere along the line, they've managed to cross the uncrossable divide to become the indie kids' jazz quartet of choice? With a Mercury nomination behind them for their debut Knee Deep In The North Sea, they recorded their follow-up, Isla, at Abbey Road with John Leckie, a man who has nurtured The Stone Roses and Radiohead. Rock'n'roll credentials to die for, in other words. But while there's drum and bass aplenty to be found here, it's hypnotic, sultry and mesmerising in a way no guitar band could ever dream of being ... This is red wine music, no doubt about it, but red wine music for the discerning indie intelligentsia".

"Fortunately the band's unique sound flourishes from the recording sessions at Abbey Road for Peter Gabriel's Real World label. Mulvey's gamelan-sounding hang provides the haunting pulse, as the tracks build to their exhilarating climaxes: with Fitzpatrick's metronomic bass, Wyllie's spiralling sax and Bellamy's driving beats. The band chanced upon the hang at WOMAD a few years ago and this year returned as a headliner, Portico yet again proving they can push musical frontiers, while keeping mass appeal".

"Det hele virker enormt sammenhængende, men med den nødvendige variation, der gør et lyt på Isla til en spændende rejse. Numre som The Visitor og Clipper er højdepunkter på en plade, der er rigtig god at dagdrømme til og hygge sig med i godt selskab. Hvis man hører til dem, der synes, at Tortoises It's All Around You er lidt for pæn i kanten, skal man dog nok søge noget lidt mere avantgarde. Jeg har nu ikke noget imod at blive strøget lidt mere med hårene i selskab med Portico Quartet".

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"It might be a long time before jazzers get a truly surprising improvisational blast off a Portico album, but Wyllie plays to his strengths when he deploys texture and tonal variation over rather uneventfully free-jazzy phrasing. The Garbarek-like feel of the steadily-pacing Line or the tumult of Clipper are striking, and the clarinet-like sax vibrato on the title track is eerily haunting. The occasional guest appearance from a really resourceful improviser might open a new window for them in the longer run, however".

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