With its eyes clearly fixed on both the past and the future at the same time, like that extraordinary and perplexing creature this is a band to inspire nothing but imagination and wonder.
The Brooklyn four-piece are imbued with so many influences it is dizzying and they refuse to shy away from a single one, instead embracing them all with nothing but utter passion and reverence. But how they mix this wonderful conglomeration of rare-groove, electro and indie-rock influences on ‘We’re Just Kids’ shows just how they intend to take these sounds into the future.
Like Oliver Cheatham’s ‘Saturday Night’ being covered by Phoenix, it has a shimmering and euphoric sound that is a joyous celebration of life and youth. Portmanteaux also manage to infuse their vocal influences; bands such as MGMT and TV On The Radio come to mind with a louche and disreputable soulfulness to present a very welcome twist to the usual indie-rock style. Couple this with a simple yet infectious chorus-like refrain repeated at will throughout, and you can’t help but be impressed by how fully formed Portmanteaux’s sound is.
The former room-mates-now-band-mates Allan Fox and Colin Ryan, along with Eren Cannata and Alex Pappas, manage to turn this spectacularly heady mixture of styles and influences into a wonderfully cohesive, warm and understated piece of neo-soul.
