Northern Portrait – The Fallen Aristocracy EP

Back to where it all started, Northern Portrait’s first EP starts with the crystalline beauty of Crazy, the sure fire best song of last year. It reminds me of the gentle beauty of The Man From Delmonte and the other bands on that Manchester North Of England cassette that BOP put out. A Quiet Night in Copenhagen sees a croon and a cry, as the singer warbles his way through another near perfect jangle pop tune. Waiting For A Chance is a man alone in a room, biding his time for something, anything. He’s not moping though; as he knows what he is doing is right. The slight jangle of the tune, its blissful nature suggests he knows the fate and he’s resigned to it, but hey, what the heck. The title track that closes the EP is slightly more upbeat, and the one where you can most see the Morrissey comparisons in the vocals. It’s much better though, beautifully styled and restrained, and definitely not prone to the Mozzer whine. You can imagine this one on some forgotten Saturday morning TV show, the band looking bemused at their surroundings while showered in petals. Northern Portrait may be a band of a different time, but its such a beautiful one we just don’t care.

The Fallen Aristocracy EP is out now on Matinee Recordings
Northern Portrait myspace is here