The Portraits - Kin

I don’t usually review bands that sound like The Portraits. Most of the bands I feature are either very raw in sound or they have a lo-fi appeal about them. But The Portraits, who are a song-writing duo from the British Isles, have a very slick and smooth sound that I’ve been finding personally very addictive. The obvious, and most often made comparison, seems to be to The Beautiful South. Like that band, there’s a very warm English breeze that wafts through their music. Just listen to the harmonies contained in songs like “Fortune", which is clearly the product of a little bit of studio wizardry, but I don’t mean that like it’s a bad thing. The band has worked hard to hone a sound that is excessively easy on the ears, and their vocals work together in such a pleasant-sounding way, that before you know it, you’ve become so completely engrossed in them. It should also be mentioned that their musical work ethic is something to be applauded. They firmly believe that music should be invisible. To quote them directly from their website, they choose to remain visually elusive, avoiding the video and image-led trends of the present day music industry, preferring their listeners instead to identify with the content and cultural and age references of their lyrics and melodies. Admirable indeed.

You can go straight to their website to download many of their songs for free, and you can listen to them on myspace. You can also purchase the CD here.