The bleak layers of Earth on the cover of Portico's Shape to Form perfectly illustrate the sound captured in their debut full-length CD. The Canadian quartet lethargically chugs through thirty minutes of post-shoegaze-infused songs while refraining from assaulting the listener with an onslaught on noise. Led by Lyn Heinemann's nervous whispers, Portico has the ability to create a sense of anxiousness while remaining calm.
With only 8 full songs, Shape to Form barely escapes being lumped inside of the EP category, although this may actually help with pacing of the album. In several songs, Heinemann's lyrics are relatively short, consisting of only a few sentences. While she is able to stretch them out well, it does give off a very lazy, dreary emotion that is present nearly throughout. This is offset by much-needed time signature changes in the middle-section of the album that help jolt life into a CD that may have otherwise suffered from its quiet nature.
Still, there is a sense that Portico could have included at least a few more tracks and still would have continued to breathe life into their post-shoegaze style. From the broken AM radio sound of the beginning of "Ryan, You Said Too Much" to the multi-rhythmic section of "A Quiet Life," there are many remarkable moments found in this album that encourage many complete listens.
While Portico will certainly need to expand their genre for their next release to avoid redundancy, they are able to stretch their downcast musical style impressively far on Shape to Form - something especially astounding in an genre that often promotes consistency over innovation.
