Port Orchards - Luna Grande

Emanating from Washington DC, Port Orchards have arrived on the scene with their debut release, Luna Grande. The disc is a refreshing, inviting mixture of organically constructed indie-rock rhythms built upon a single dynamic wavelength that doesn't do anything too fancy or intricate to get their musical message across that means.

We start things off with "You Got Tall", a beautiful, simply structured tune that introduces you to the vocals of Dan Wiggins and Mike Cormier, who both do a superb job of handling the instrumentation with remarkable ease and aplomb. "Bay Window Eyes" is an upbeat, optimistic leaning track that evokes the remarkable musicianship that these musicians have done a terrific job of demonstrating just 2 songs into the effort so far. "Ski Song" is another relaxing, kick back number that features homegrown instrumentation that doesn't need to rely on any extraneous electronic manipulation that otherwise would have destroyed such a fragile, beautiful collection of works heard here. "Wildflowers" is a short and sweet 2 minute number that accomplishes alot during such a short span of time with neat acoustic guitar arrangements providing a backdrop and a transition phase heading into the second half of the album.

The second half begins with my favorite track off the album, "Houses In Rhythm". A fantastic track that shows off more variances in tempo and a more balanced instrumentation that highlights the band's full featured and wide ranging talents that they have done a great job of displaying so far. We start to close out the disc with "Mass Ave. NW", a dual faceted number that shows off the duo's terrific musicianship that has been present on every single track up until this point and has shown no signs of giving up whatsoever. The disc ultimately concludes on "There's A Light", a beautiful, encapsulated number that brings in all the distinct musical elements that we've heard so far in succession and offers us a at-a-glance view of a band that is well on their way to greater success outside their hometown with this well constructed effort. I'm very happy that I stumbled across Port Orchards, they're a terrific band that has a simple musical outlook to them that many other bands implement to a certain degree, but these guys do it at an angle that really hits close to home.

In retrospect, a solid and well constructed effort from Port Orchards, who offer up something different for the masses with an inviting collection of tracks that has the audacity to be heard by music listeners from outside the DC area and beyond.

                                                                                                                           Album Score: 4/5

Track Listing:

1. You Got Tall
2. Bay Window Eyes
3. She Won't Find Me Tonight
4. Ski Song
5. Wildflowers
6. Limits of Your Heart
7. Houses in Rhythm
8. Perfect Little Pictures
9. Mass Ave, NW
10. There's A Light