Port Erin - Ocean Grey
by Benjamin Howarth
published: 12 / 6 / 2017

Label:
Burning Shed Records
Format: CD
intro
Enthralling jazz and post rock-influenced third album from Port Erin who spent last year working as Nick Harper's backing band
Through ten years as a band and over 600 shows, Port Erin have quietly turned themselves into one of the most impressive live bands in the country. This saw them invited to become the backing band for the hard gigging Nick Harper through 2016 – a meeting of minds, given both Port Erin and Harper’s incessant genre hopping. Now, 2017 offers them a chance to introduce Harper’s devoted fanbase to their own work, with the release of their third album ‘Ocean Grey’. Anyone who decides to check out this ‘backing band’ will quickly realise that they have a considerable amount to offer with their own material. You suspect that their roots in a tiny West country village (Broughton Gifford) are the main reason they are not already well known. Though an album of six extended tracks with lengthy instrumental passages doesn’t, at first, imply an easy listen, ‘Ocean Grey’ gives you a warm welcome from the off. Although their obvious love of jazz improvisation and freeform post-rock defines every track, this is a focused record where melody is never sacrificed. Joining the trio of two Myles Tyghe brothers (Reuben and Jacob) and a drummer (Cerys Brocklewood) are a handful of guests who lend texture and nods to jazz – with Pete Judge’s trumpet on opening track ‘The Fuzz and All That They Feed’ laying a gauntlet down for the rest of the record. I was hooked from the opening chords and have not tired of this sound after multiple repeat plays. I’m reminded of the swagger of vintage period Echo and the Bunnymen, the brooding intensity of their underrated contemporaries The Sound, the measured control of ‘Hail to the Thief’ era Radiohead and – yes- I can’t help but think occasionally of the first two Coldplay albums. But I wouldn’t waste too much time comparing Port Erin to other bands. Indeed, you don’t really ‘criticise’ exceptional albums like this – you just sit back and bask in them. Highly, highly recommended.
Track Listing:-
1 The Fuzz & All That They Feed2 Chaos In The Streets
3 Just Like TV
4 Higher Higher
5 Half-Cut Moon
6 Ocean Grey
Band Links:-
https://www.facebook.com/porterinmusichttps://twitter.com/porterinmusic
https://www.youtube.com/user/porterinmusic
https://www.instagram.com/porterinmusic/
http://porterinmusic.co.uk/
https://burningshed.com/store/altrock/port-erin_ocean-grey_cd
interviews |
Interview (2017) |
![]() |
As Port Erin prepared for a set at Glastonbury and the release of their excellent fourth album ‘Ocean Grey’, Ben Howarth speaks to Reuben Myles Tyghe, the frontman of the west country three-piece Port Erin to learn more about their ten years as a band |
soundcloud
most viewed articles
current edition
Spear Of Destiny - InterviewRobert Forster - Interview
Fiona Hutchings - Interview
When Rivers Meet - Waterfront, Norwich, 29/5/2025
Carl Ewens - David Bowie 1964 to 1982 On Track: Every Album, Every Song
Brian Wilson - Ten Songs That Made Me Love...
Pistol Daisys - Waterfront, Norwich, 29/5/2025
Nils Petter Molvaer - El Molino, Barcelona, 24/4/2025
Credits - ARC, Liverpool, 17/5.2025
Deb Googe and Cara Tivey - Interview
most viewed reviews
current edition
Peter Doolan - I Am a Tree Rooted to the Spot and a Snake Moves Around Me,in a CircleGarbage - Let All That We Imagine Be The Light
John McKay - Sixes and #Sevens
Suzanne Vega - Flying With Angels
Little Simz - Lotus
Vinny Peculiar - Things Too Long Left Unsaid
Billy Nomates - Metalhorse
Eddie Chacon - Lay Low
Only Child - Holy Ghosts
Vultures - Liz Kershaw Session 16.06.88
Pennyblackmusic Regular Contributors
Adrian Janes
Amanda J. Window
Andrew Twambley
Anthony Dhanendran
Benjamin Howarth
Cila Warncke
Daniel Cressey
Darren Aston
Dastardly
Dave Goodwin
Denzil Watson
Dominic B. Simpson
Eoghan Lyng
Fiona Hutchings
Harry Sherriff
Helen Tipping
Jamie Rowland
John Clarkson
Julie Cruickshank
Kimberly Bright
Lisa Torem
Maarten Schiethart