The Beat Surrender

Port O’Brien have been laopping up the plaudits in recent weeks for their album All We Could Do Was Sing, with just about every review i’ve read hailing it as one of the albums of the year so far…and maybe it is, after all, so many critics can’t be wrong can they?

The thing is, I really can’t see why it’s so rated and i’m not trying to be contraversial or awkward here, I just don’t think it’s all that.

Off kilter folk has been done before and groups that are influenced by the sea certainly aren’t anything new, in fact in Britain alone we’ve produced better bands that can deliver a decent sea shanty (The Coral and Shack to name just two). Even the choruses that they deliver seem to be based on The Polyphonic Spree mentality of getting as many people to sing and shout in unison as possible, if that floats your boatr then you should head over to the infinitely more talented Los Campesinos!

While the album does have it’s moments, particularly on Stuck On A Boat and Fisherman’s Son, all too often the songs don’t have anything to actually say.

Maybe it’s just me, but if I was you i’d try and give the songs a listen before buying to at least see if it’s your sort of thing, in the words of Public Enemy...don’t believe the hype.