Nightporter - Alarming But Charming

10 Jan 2012

Not so long ago Mick Shearman and Tony Crawley were ordinary blokes doing a 9-5 but all that changed when they left that life behind and became NightPorter. Mick (Bass Guitar) became Il Dottore (although that moniker seems to have been dropped as it isn’t mentioned on the credits) and Tony became Raven or Raven Porter (Vocals). Let’s not forget the other band members Martin Huggins (Guitar), Joe Bullimore (Drums) and Sean Duval Todhunter (Lyrics) who’s moniker (Dr Ordinaire) also seems to have been dropped.

What I love about this band is the way in which they set about inventing themselves. It wasn’t some half-arsed attempt; no it was 200% give it everything and then some.

I’ve never been one that’s interested in classifying music into genre. If something grabs me by the bollocks or gets right to my sole then it’s worked irrespective if it’s classical or metal. So trying to classify this album was difficult for me so I’ll take the bands own which is “Alternative Rock with a Psychedelic ambience”. Think Killing Joke and you’re on the right track.

Ascension is a bold choice to use as a first track as essentially it is an instrumental (the sound bites don’t count as vocals, neither do the other obscure voice-over which I’m guessing is provided by Raven) but you know what, it bloody works. I don’t know if this was intentional but it certainly takes you to a higher place. I love the pace change mid song. This is definitely an iPod contender and I’m very fussy what I allow on my iPod.

Blood Rite is your first opportunity to assess Raven’s vocals. Whilst they aren’t the best, (in my opinion and who the fuck am I anyway) they do grow on you and are perfect for the music genre. You are left in no doubt that NightPorter mean business and lays the foundation for the remaining tracks. Several days after listening to the album I woke up and all I could hear in my head was “They own the day but we own the night”. Brilliant, job done.

Golden Chain is possibly the weakest track on the album but that may be because it followed 2 very strong tracks. The voice-overs started to get annoying; I don’t think there was any need for them. It was overkill in my opinion. It didn’t really do anything for me but nevertheless a competent track.

The opening guitar riff of Trust Us is straight out of the Killing Joke box but who cares because this is an excellent track, excellent lyrics and very well put together. If like me you mind was wandering a bit during Golden Chain it will be firmly back in focus now. Superb feet tapper (if that’s the sort of thing you can do to these tracks).

Your Nightmare is an interesting change in pace as it’s slowed to a mean and moody level. In my opinion another stroke of genius given that it’s roughly in the middle of the playlist.

The Greatest Evil is a track that gets you by the scruff of the neck and gives you a good beating, but you love it. This contains some fantastic guitar work during the opening riffs. However I can’t hide my concern that the use of voice-overs is excessive. If you have a message or point to make with a song it should be done through the lyrics and not voice-overs, or at least they should be used sparingly.

The Fool drops the tempo back down once more with an extremely haunting and memorising beat. Something which excites me about this song is the clarity in which you can hear each instrument. You can hear how each one contributes to the overall song. I think this song could have held its own without the need for the sound affects and/or muted voice-over. I couldn’t make out the words rendering their effect useless.

Fallen Angel is another competent track with well structured and thoughtful lyrics. It’s the shortest track on the album and consequently leads you nicely towards the final tracks.

Victoria is the first pre-album song I had the pleasure to listen to and my sheer enjoyment has not diminished. The opening few minutes draw you in with a beautiful haunting melody, the mid section hits you like a sledgehammer before you return off the ceiling for the final few minutes of haunting melody. Top quality. Another iPod contender.

The Sickness has the unenviable job of being the closing track and it does a sterling job. It’s a little too long for me but nevertheless closes the album off nicely.

This album just keeps getting better and better the more times you play it and I guarantee you will be playing it over and over again.

Never ever call this an amateur production. This is professional with a capital P. You’re never going to get high-end quality when you’re on a tight budget but forget cheap and cheerful, the CD package quality is first class. As far as delivery is concerned in my case I got it next day, superb. NightPorter are sleeping, eating, breathing and living their dream and I wish them all the best for the future.