Permanent Signal in Bloomington, MN

What a difference a year makes.
Porcelain Raft
's 2012 debut
Strange Weekend
resembled what might happen if
MGMT
fully gave in to the trend of chillwave, and the 2013 follow-up reflects a much colder time. You could think of this as the insular winter album that comes after a summer of fun.
Mauro Remiddi
mans the helm again, writing and composing all the music, but the setting has changed from his basement to
the Antlers
' studio, with
Darby Cicci
working the boards and playing bass, and
Jonny Rogoff
on drums. Aside from a more melancholic mood, perhaps the biggest changes are found in the understated moody compositions, the glacial chamber reverbs, and the newly apparent '90s Brit-pop influences. Certain songs, like the
Stone Roses
/
Spiritualized
-styled "Minor Pleasure" feel like bittersweet anthems, as does "Night Birds," which has a distinct, darkly romantic feeling of a
The Bends
-era
Radiohead
power ballad. Elsewhere, "Think of the Ocean" and "It Ain't Over" are propelled by skittering electronic soundscapes. A few minor-key piano ballads take the album into an even wearier place, while the soaring "A Way Out" works paranoia into grandiose heights, and "Five Minutes from Now" demonstrates that
can work an e-bow instrumental into a thickly layered emotional piece worthy of
Sigur Ros
. While
Permanent Signal
isn't nearly as instantaneous as
Remiddi
's breakout album, there is a greater sense of depth, and the music carries more weight. As it stands, this is a strangely seductive record, filled with remarkable musical peaks, and proof positive that an ambitious sophomore departure can be wholly satisfying. ~ Jason Lymangrover