Description:	CD EP on Make Mine Music, LAST COPIES!!
	Format:	CD single
	Genre(s):	Experimental Indie
	Label:	Make Mine Music
	Price:	£1.89
	Availability:	In stock. Dispatched in 1 working day.

4
...according to our Business Lady on 18 March 2009.

O.K., Im to be a big fan of Portal. I've got a few of his early lo-fo home recording efforts that I've really enjoyed but I wasn't aware of how prolific his output has been until I began reviewing this e.p. It would appear that Portal have now returned from a brief hiatus to present us with 'Options'. This seems to be a concerted effort to evolve beyond previous efforts and sees Portal collaborate with Piano Magic's Glen Johnson, Epic 45s Ben Holton and Lorraine Lelis of Mahogany. The result is pure New Order, a surprisingly commercial move but works beautifully, invoking those classic electro 12" dance mixes that would rock the hacienda to the break of dawn throughout the late 80s. Each of the vocal contributions really helps enhance Scott Sinfield's subtle electronic synth-pokery and takes Portal's recording output to new heights both in terms of personal musical development and commercial appeal. The Glen Johnson remix is also pretty sweet. Definitely worth a look.

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Sound clips for Options by Portal: on CD single at Norman Records UK. CD single, Make Mine Music, MMM048, £1.89.

What their label says...

After a prolonged hiatus, Portal return on 30th March 2009 with a new four-track EP, “Options”, which sees their sound moving into new and perhaps somewhat unexpected territories. “Options” is, without doubt, Portal’s most melodic, accomplished and confident release to date. The EP also sees for the first time Portal songwriter/instrumentalist Scott Sinfield collaborating with a variety of singers.
In the sleeve notes to the 2006 retrospective collection “Gone But Not Forgiven”, Scott stated that the compilation marked the end of a chapter and that if Portal returned, things would be different. There is, he noted, no point in repeating what has gone before. The music of Portal has always been evolutionary, having its origins in fuzzy lo-fi home recordings, a sound that progressed into lush, guitarbased
ambience, and from there, into the sample-based minimal electronic pop of the last studio album “Waves & Echoes”, in 2005. “Options” marks another bold step in this evolution. The title track, co-written and performed with Glen Johnson of Piano Magic and Future Conditional, wears its influences on its sleeve, nodding intentionally towards the pioneering post-punk electronics of New Order and Section 25. It also boasts a far more commercial sound than fans of Portal might expect. The second track, the up-tempo “You’re Building Over My Childhood”, features Ben Holton of Make Mine Music labelmates Epic45, who provides his strongest vocal performance yet, over a backdrop of chiming guitars, driving drums and staccato synth. “Slow Burner”, the EP’s third track, co-written and performed with Lorraine Lelis (ex-Mahogany), matches a stunningly beautiful vocal with swirling synthesizers, softly picked guitar and vintage drum machine. The EP is completed by a remix of “Options” by Future Conditional that recalls the halcyon days of 12” extended dance mixes, inspired by Soft Cell’s “Non-Stop Ecstatic Dancing” and the Human League’s “Love & Dancing”. The remixed version also features additional vocals by Klima’s Angèle David-Guillou. “Options” is a stunning return for Portal, one that will surprise and delight in equal measure, and bring many new fans to the band.