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- Summary: The fourth full-length release for the British band (2015's Living Fields was released as a trio under the name Portico) was recorded in London and sees them returning as a four-piece.
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- Record Label: Gondwana
- Genre(s): Jazz
- More Details and Credits »
Score distribution:
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Positive: 5 out of 8
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Mixed: 3 out of 8
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Negative: 0 out of 8
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Aug 23, 2017On Art in the Age of Automation they are back to their best and clearly enjoying this newfound vigour for their craft.
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UncutAug 23, 2017Portico's rejuvenated quartet status brings with it more of the jazz-influenced stylings that first made their name, [Oct 2017, p.36]
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MojoAug 23, 2017This is vaulting, widescreen soundscaping of the first water. [Oct 2017, p.92]
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Aug 29, 2017Their music is always beautifully rendered, and there is plenty of interest for the listener, but the hang, their most distinctive weapon, feels underused, its tones not bought into the foreground as much as might be expected.
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Aug 24, 2017Saxophonist Jack Wylie rarely improvises in any meaningful way. Instead, his languorous lead lines are pitched somewhere between Arve Henriksen’s FX-laden trumpet and Graham Massey’s soprano sax in 808 State. But among the rather snoozy trance dirges are some delicious moments.
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Aug 24, 2017Art In The Age Of Automation finds the group expanding their sound to accommodate strings and horns alongside their core armoury of drums, bass, keys, sax and hang, the latter’s steel-pan timbres pleasingly sprinkled over the slow drift of “Objects To Place In A Tomb” and prominently featured in “Beyond Dialogue”, two of the better tracks.
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Aug 30, 2017By focussing in on softer deployments of electronics and more subtle processing, and staying resolutely in an ambient soundworld, Art In The Age Of Automation does feel comparatively safe; well turned-out and nicely polished, but generally risk-free in execution.
Score distribution:
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Positive: 1 out of 1
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Mixed: 0 out of 1
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Negative: 0 out of 1
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Nov 27, 2019
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