Whiskey Hill

Album review

Although one could be forgiven for assuming Porter to be an alternative country band, both from their band name and their rustic-looking album cover art, they actually happen to produce an eclectic mélange of sounds ranging from Afro-pop and Spanish tinges to pedestrian jazz and funk. As usual, the delicate equation that is required to make those influences not turn into frustratingly elastic and self-important experimentation is constantly is danger of falling out of balance, leaving the band to tread the line between radio-friendly Dave Matthews Band-fare and more serious genre exercises. Lead vocalist Peter Fand isn't aided by the fact that he possesses a pleasant, if singularly indistinct singing voice, just as guitarist Tom Rossi shows himself a more than adequate musician who doesn't play with much personality. Even as the smooth jazz/pop of "A Change in the Weather" could draw reasonable comparisons to Harry Connick, Jr., and the faux-white bread crooning of profanities provide a moment of cheap humor if nothing else, most of Whiskey Hill smacks of the band members having too much talent to know which ways to most effectively channel their ambitions.
© Matt Fink /TiVo