Portico Quartet, Memory Streams review: Reflects an eclectic past, but also an exciting future

It has never been easy to pigeonhole Portico Quartet and now attempts to do so will become even harder.

The group’s latest album is slick, gliding seamlessly between nods to their jazz-heavy 2007 debut and hints at what the coming years may hold. It doesn’t feel a second too long either — quite the feat given that more than half of the tracks clock in at over five-and-a-half minutes.

The ease the four-piece feel playing together is evident, no more so than on Signals in the Dusk, which sees Jack Wylie’s saxophone flow effortlessly over a rising blend of warped electronics and their signature hang-drums.

After dancefloor-friendly Ways of Seeing comes Memory Palace, a piano piece that marks the album’s halfway point and provides a welcome moment to pause before the drum-led Offset kicks in.

But perhaps the best track is the opener. With, Beside, Against is one of the first songs written for the album and encapsulates their latest sound, beginning with quiet simplicity before quickening to include a dreamy swirl of synths.

If you’ve not listened Portico Quartet before, Memory Streams — a reflection of their eclectic past and even more exciting future — is the perfect introduction.