"'Garden Portal Almanac' is as much of a journey as an album can be. An immersive experience that endlessly fuses genres and styles, engulfing the senses from start to finish. Those familiar with Michael Potter's The Electric Nature project will find a natural progression from that work, while new comers will find a unique blend of psychedelic, post-rock, shoegaze, krautrock, and experimental pop, with a free-jazz backbone. The compositions are lush and expansive, each of the album's six tracks creating a unique world all it's own. This is a highly visual album, easy to imagine yourself in the plot of some early 1980's sci-fi fantasy thriller while listening.
Album opener "What Makes You Happy" plays out like a triumphant welcome march, setting an upbeat, confident tone with an almost tribal-orchestra style and walls of guitar guiding the way through the eight minute epic. "Can One Make Two" has a driving beat and sax that pushes forward the narrative laid out on track one, the plot is in full swing. "Garden Portal Lullaby", hence the name, slows things down a bit. This track has a somber, meditative feel, with the hopeful confidence of the first two tracks still present beneath the surface. "Sleepwalker" is a hazy bar room cover of the Santo & Johnny classic "Sleep Walk", with layers of guitar echoing against the dim lit walls of an empty bar. Toe-tapper "Days Go Fast" is a prog-rock infused jam that feels like a victory song, brimming with a positive, triumphant energy. "Get Out" feels like the track that plays right after the last scene rolls, the screen goes black, our protagonist has defeated whatever intergalactic evil he was pitted against, and the credits are rolling. This is kind of track that makes the hairs on your arm stand up, a rocker that is layered with complexity, evolving over and over before turning into an all out wall of guitar driven noise. A powerful ending to an intense 34 minute journey.
With 'Garden Portal Almanac', Michael Potter has created an epic that is far beyond his years, truly a work that is layers upon layers of influence and genre-bending prowess."
- Joshua Tabbia, Already Dead Tapes, 2017
supported by 5 fans who also own “Garden Portal Almanac”
Received this tape as a gift from a family member, who purchased it at the local record store, Vinyl Frontier, in my hometown. I didn't expect much, but WOW! I love it! This is such unique and intriguing music... relaxing and captivating! 10/10! S. Deegan
supported by 5 fans who also own “Garden Portal Almanac”
Heard some of this on YT - came straight over here and purchased it.
Such a beautiful release, can't pick a favourite! So glad I discovered this artist! PadraigC
A perfectly matched cassette split between Yves Malone's beat-driven atmospheric synths and Grapefruit's burbling hearts of space. Bandcamp New & Notable Nov 29, 2017