Port O'Brien will be sailing into NYC behind brand-new album (photo by Joshua Caine)
PORT O’BRIEN
Wednesday, October 14, Mercury Lounge, 217 East Houston St., $12, 7:30
Friday, October 16, Union Hall, 702 Union St. at Fifth Ave., $12-$14, 8:00
http://www.myspace.com/portobrien
http://www.unionhallny.com
http://www.mercuryloungenyc.com
We don’t think it’s us, but too many of the indie bands we’ve been covering lately have suffered problems on the road. The latest is California band Port O’Brien, who recently noted on their blog that “our van was broken into in broad daylight in downtown portland. the thieving robber wasn’t very good, but still got some good stuff. there’s always more stuff, we’re getting over it.” They’ll be getting over it at two area shows, at Mercury Lounge on October 14 and Union Hall on October 16, playing with Sea Wolf and Sara Lov. Started in a bedroom in 2005 by salmon fisherman Van Pierszalowski and head baker Cambria Goodwin, Port O’Brien is touring behind their solid new CD, THREADBARE (TBD Records, October 6, 2009), which mixes their rollicking indie folk with harsh reality as Cambria deals with the tragic loss of her younger brother. The acoustic-based album features sweet hooks (“My Will Is Good,” “Sour Milk / Salt Water”), haunting ballads (“Threadbare”), gripping choruses (“In the Meantime”), pure pop (“Leap Year”), and at least one ode to Neil Young (“Calm Me Down”). Although the disc begins and ends with alternate versions of “High Without the Hope,” bright light does occasionally shine through, as on the sparkling, familiar-sounding “Oslo Campfire”: “Everything we have chalk it up to love,” Van sings, because after all, it all comes down to a matter of heart.