Portable is an effective blend of a slightly soulful – and quite unusual – vocal and a production centred around Detroit techno. It’s the vocal that is the curiosity here, for Alan Abrahams has a distinctive voice that suggests a 1980s influence with its precision, but has a bit of soul in its more vulnerable moments. In the thickly layered ‘As For Me’ it is at its best, while ‘Say It’s Going To Change’ is really good, with its ultimate hope that ‘it’s gonna change soon’. The old style Detroit beat and deadpan vocals are a good match on a darker song like ‘More Than’, where Abrahams reveals more depth, as he also does in a downbeat track like ‘The Loneliness of the Long Distance Drinker’. There is more emotional content here than you might expect – and some impressive production too.
Ben Hogwood
4 out of 5
PORTABLE – ALAN ABRAHAMS – !K7
