Review: Legends of the Gondwana label, Portico Quartet, are back with a sixth studio album in an LP they are describing as electronic-driven, which swiftly follows their acclaimed ambient-minimalist suite Terrain. If Terrain addressed the darker side of Portico Quartet's lockdown expressions, then Monument resonates as an ode to better times, and if not quite a dance record, the LP nonetheless pulses with an energy, radiance and hopeful inspiration. For fans of bands like Battles to Bowery Electric, Monument takes in acoustic broken beats, soft horns and subtle hand-drumming next to flays of ambient exotica, electronic textures and free jazz that should appeal to admirers of labels like Mesh, Kranky and of course Warp.
