After much success with their 7" single, "There Goes The Patience" b/w "Mass Transit At Midnight," Houston's Port Vale returns with 6 fresh new songs. You can expect the same emo and pop goodness you heard on their single. Western Winds starts off with "Bel Air" which is a mostly instrumental track. Halfway through the song, the band begins to repeat the words, "Bel Air." Then singer, Lance Walker, comes in singing the one and only line in the whole song, "We are all so patient and that's sweet." This also is repeated over and over until the song ends. Perhaps this one line is in reference to how the track is mostly instrumental, and how the listener must have been patient with it to have stuck with it until the end. Next up is "All The Able Postmen," which is the most pop of all the songs here. It's quite the bouncy tune. From there we go to "Pacific Palisades," which is full of jangly guitar work; "Those With Hands" has a steady, even melody and tempo; and finally, "Over The Broadway Commons" is interesting with its drumrolls in the chorus. The last track borders on being more on the pop side, but it never quite crosses over. So there's some pop and some emo and some beats and some jangly guitars in Port Vale's debut CD, Western Winds. It's a good one for all those indie kids out there. - Cindy Wong

What's going to sound a great deal like the Promise Ring to a lot of people is even more poppy than they, really. Port Vale has made a record that is tremendously catchy and hummable, with great guitar tones and steady, solid rhythms.

Six new songs from PORT VALE, mixing BRIGHT's limber guitar-mantra w/BRAID's heartfelt emotion, beautiful boy vocals and songs w/altitude. Wholesome guitar-jangle, trancey rhythms and USA indie-rock's collective unconsciousÓ

Regardless of what other online publications have to say about this band, I think they're great! This trio of Houston lads continue to deliver strongly crafted obscure pop songs. Port Vale have a very distinct sound coming from the fact that they don't have a bass player and rely on two guitars and drums to fill the void. The first track on Western Winds, "Bel Air," has me hypnotized. The continuous lyrics have me singing this song all day long. As for the other songs they have a similar feel that will have you dancing in you living room. Lead singer Lance Walker has a very strange and unique voice that made lead some to compare Port Vale to bands such as Superchunk or even the Promise Ring. I would advise anyone who is into "indie pop" to check this album out as soon as you can.

Six songs. Sparse driving melodies, sometimes more atmospheric. Real nice.

Straight-up, straight-laced, all systems go and punch punch kick. Port Vale knock out another fresh indierockgoodness release, this time in the form of a 6-song EP. I really like how they include their lyrics in their releases, as if to encourage sing-alongs or possibly nudging us for some finger-pointing shout-alongs like kids do at hardcore shows (especially the part in "north by north" where it goes "...but the south side sucks yeah the south side sucks!" and "...but the west side sucks and the east side's weak!"). Aw, that's so much fun. These guys crank out such refreshing shiny indie rock hits, that, I have caught myself waiting for the CD changer to get to this CD. I suppose I could just hit the >>next>> thang. Horray for modern technology! Horray for Port Vale! (Check out the review I wrote of their 7" further down on this page, if you're looking for something more descriptive of their sound. You know how it goes; wheel, reinventing, not necessarily in that order.)

Mellow, but peppy swell jangle.

six fun, punchy pop songs that you'll wanna learn the words to so that you can sing along in the car as you go to pick up your significant other. sort of like if butterglory picked up some stuff at pavement's yard sale. is it just me or does the singer at times sound like kevin seconds? yup, probably just me. sometime these short ep's are fun but with port vale being so good, it's more frustrating because ya just wanna hear more. (mb)

Inconnus pour l'instant au bataillon, les Amricains de Port Vale viennent avec ce ep bien fourni (6 titres), nous rappeler que nous sommes ž tout jamais des fans du Wedding Present et des premiers Pavement. En effet c'est vers ces deux Rfrences que l'on se tournera ž l'coute de ces chansons aux rythmes cabosss, aux guitares rev¼ches et ž la voix gratigne.

The CD starts out with 2 minutes of music, when the listener is finally rewarded at 2:00, "bel air, we are all so patient and that's sweet." You wish more people felt that way, and so does port vale. Grounded enthusiastic young men with not so much a plan as an idea. We create from what we know, it is the basis of human's attraction to other human's creation. We feel a kindredship, one's highest honor is to know that someone percieved and understood. And when they say "uh oh, uh oh, uh oh", we know the kids ARE alright. If it were any longer you might lose attention, were it any shorter, the letdown would be unbearable.

These days who can listen anyway? That takes time, time is money. Money buys records. Buy this one.

Bouncy indiepop from three Houston boys (two guitars and drummer) singing songs about postmen and airplanes. This is fun! Recorded by John Croslin and Gram Lebron (Schrasj).

Six fresh '80s-inspired indie-pop songs with jangly guitars, solid drumming, and no bass. The hypnotic opener calls to mind Unrest, while the other tracks have a more unique sound marked by Lance's distinctive voice.

The only point of contention you're likely to encounter with regard to Western Winds involves the vocals. Vocalist Lance Walker sounds confident, although you really have to grade the album on a curve in order to say he's consistently on-key. If you find that sort of thing charming -- and really, once you hear Walker you'll see that it's hard not to -- you'll enjoy Western Winds. If you require a trained vocalist and dead-on tunefulness, you'll need to look elsewhere...which is a pity, as you'll be depriving yourself of a sextet of happy, jangly, quintessentially hummable indie-rock tunes, like the tastily harmonic "Pacific Palisades". If you let that happen, you're an arse.

To say Port Vale were modest would be the nicest thing really, but to say anonymous would be the most truthful. With every style of guitar music there are always the leaders, the bands or artists that form sounds and styles, taking the music further, even if only just a little. But within all this there are still always the footsoldiers, the people who keep the well-trodden path up to quota in fresh tarmac. Port Vale do this with the austerity of the most functional employee. There are three of them, guitarbassdrums, they chime out a sound that's not to indistinguishable from the master blueprint, melodic, vaguely melancholy, fluffy indie-rock-pop stuff that touches base with the more standard offerings by Superchunk, a bit of bland Promise Ring and perhaps even some Lemonheads. It's American indie guitars and nothing else, as if you needed to be reminded of the tradition.(A)

Port Vale is in motion. For starters, its lineup has changed. The two guitars and drums setup, a la the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, featured on the debut EP, Western Winds, has turned into a traditional three-piece ensemble, with bassist (Brett Shirley) and drummer (John Adams). Lance Walker remains the original lineup's constant as guitarist-vocalist.

For a band that has been together only about two months, its performances are amazingly solid. The live act seems to convey an excitement that's lacking on Western Winds. The pace is quicker and the bass warmer. Also, Walker's out-of-tune vocals, which get distracting on EP, take a backseat to the musicianship live.

Usually such whiny-guy vocals are completely forgivable when the music rocks, and on that point Port Vale delivers. The songs from Western Winds are full of punchy rhythms and catchy hooks. The bouncy "All the Able Postmen," "Pacific Palisades" and "North By North" are well-crafted indie pop, the kind that gets stuck in one's head for days and gives an audience a rise. "North By North" even offers a chorus chant any hardcore rapper would envy: "But the South Side sucks, yeah, the South Side sucks." Other tracks, such as "Over Broadway Commons" and "Those with Hands," are pensive. Overall, the EP reveals some pretty good stuff; how the band translates that material live should be worth a listen. Port Vale performs Saturday, December 18, at the Mausoleum, 411 Westheimer. For more information, call (713)526-4648. (Sande Chen)

A band that does a lo-fi indie pop version of J Church here, the singer's voice sounds like Lance's, the songs are a little slower and less loud, but have the same kind of 80's British new wave influences, the Furs, the Smiths, and the Cure, along with some of the Sarah indie pop sound of the field mice. The songs sometimes start slow, but pick up pace as they get going, and are all strongly melodic. This is a nice indie pop listen.

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