Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
With the grandest of smiles it is a welcome to visit once more The Riflebirds but as with everything in evolution and time spent away, what has manifested in its image is, for the listener to discern and discuss, a tantalising rebirth, and an extension of the discography, and in The Riflebirds Of Portland’s album Windmills On The Moon, evolution does not disguise the sheer beauty that comes seductively, inevitably, that is continual and worshiped.
Written by the irresistible mind of Lee Oser and Marvin Etzioni, the groups ethos has in reality only grown larger, it has remained grounded, subtle, compulsive, and as a sophomore recording it invites memories to be formed and to be enjoyed.
Time though has a funny reaction to the idea of displacement, more than three decades away from the public eye, 36 years of intolerable silence, ceased with an album that is positive and instantly likeable, holding firm with one hand the past and the pleasant cool they brought to the scene in the late 80s, and with the other, holding aloft a torch that leads to the modern destination, one that refuses to dismiss what was because it was the foundation stone for the group to stand upon as they searched carefully for a way back to the fan’s hearts.
Across tracks such as the opening structured set piece of Sometime Somewhere, the tremendously cool study of how automatic writing can aid the creative process in She’s Not Here, the generated sadness of My Mourning Bride, which lyrically has an immense sense of power that touches upon the modern drama of a woman settling for her second choice of man and the regret that comes from the choice, You Win, which found its way to utilise the resonating gift of Kevin Kraft’s own particular vision of lyric writing, and the penultimate song on the album, The Last Day Of Your Love, what transpires is a love letter to the band as an entity, to the idea of renewal, and to keeping faith with your youthful view.
An album that reaches out from a different era and absolutely nails the responsibility of the modern point of view. A sincere welcome back to all involved in making The Riflebirds Of Portland appear once more.
The Riflebirds Of Portland release Windmills On The Moon on August 15th.
Ian D. Hall