Porcelain Raft - "Strange Weekend"

Artist: Porcelain Raft
Album: Strange Weekend
Label: Secretly Canadian
Release Date: January 24, 2012
Review by: Sean Kayden

Italian born musician, Mauro Remiddi, who performs under the moniker Porcelain Raft, has released, “Strange Weekend.” Although he’s been associated with different acts, this is the first album behind the name, Porcelain Raft. “Strange Weekend” is bedroom-pop at its absolute finest. A mixture between spacey electro-rock and dreamy pop, the record swirls and dazzles every step of the way. It’s the kind of album that absorbs your inner thoughts and emotions. It carries this magical ability to transfer your entity to another world or perhaps in this case, a celestial utopia. Porcelain Raft combines shoegaze and 90s alt. rock with shimmery melodies and a palpable gracefulness. Overall the execution is impeccable and the results are nearly off the charts. The beauty found and discovered in “Strange Weekend” will stimulate your body, soothe your mind and capture your soul.

There’s not much not to like here. While some songs like “Unless You Speak From Your Heart” and “Picture” may take a few listens to win you over, rest assure, they will since their vital pieces to this puzzle. “Is It Too Deep For You?” starts off like a hauntingly slow hip hop jam and while remains fairly slow throughout is mesmerizing in tone. “Backwords” is divine, internally captivating, and simply moving. “The End Of Silence” will have you remaining silent, as the song is enormously magnetic and gorgeous. Remiddi’s vocals are bliss, full of heartache as he sings directly to you (and for a moment you feel as if he is singing only to you). The aforementioned song, much like the album, is profoundly intimate and deeply personal. This is the kind of album that can make all the difference in the world to you on any given day. The capabilities of the record go far beyond any words I can muster. The limitations on this record are that it only sprawls to ten tracks. Whereas the music may end after 34 minutes, the feeling you get while listening lasts for much longer.

“Strange Weekend” moves you, tears you apart and finally becomes you. It’ll percolate your mind and ruminate there for a while. It’s gathers a great feeling because it allows you to observe the things that were troubling you and wash away any trepidation that was associated with them. Porcelain Raft’s music pays respect to the sound it’s influenced by, but effortlessly comes together feeling strangely original. “Strange Weekend” offers so much in such a small package. An intensely fulfilling experience from start to finish, Porcelian Raft knows how to get straight to your heart without ever appearing manipulative or disingenuous.

Grade 9.0 out of 10
Key Tracks: “Drifting In And Out “ “Is It Too Deep For You?”, “Backwords”, “The End Of Silence”

Published by Mountain Views News on January 28th, 2012
http://mtnviewsnews.com/v06/htm/n04/p09.htm