Let us time-travel back to the heady days of '07 and this site's review of Port-Royal's second album, Afraid To Dance.  Here, writer Eric Common argues that the weaker part of their debut album was the 'questionable choice of electronic percussion and sound manipulation' - yet that was the aspect the band chose to push on with for their follow-up.  'Gone are the slow, brooding swells of Flares, which are now replaced with uninspired IDM-esque electronic production,' he wrote.  It is an understandable lament, for a promising young band concentrated on the aspects they liked best for their second album rather than re-treading their previous work, and unfortunately that didn't necessarily chime with everybody.  Here's the thing, though: Eric was right on the button for calling it uninspired and average, too much in thrall to recycled old electronic beats.  Musicians make records for themselves, though, right?  So no matter how perceptive the critique was, it was highly unlikely Port-Royal were going to abandon the electronics now, although Flares fans may be hoping they would.

The realization that they haven't comes four minutes and thirty-three seconds into the opening track when the slow, brooding swells are interrupted by a squall of glitchy beats that eventually cave in on themselves.  It is, if you will, their Kid A moment, underlining a willingness to progress.  Not only are they abandoning guitars (we don't get a string plucked in anger for the first quarter-hour, another similarity to Radiohead's album), they are lobbing Autechre-lite noises into the mix.  So if you, along with Eric, liked the ambience and the guitars of Flares and were a bit put off by the increasing reliance on electronica on Afraid To Dance, you will find little succour here.  If you're thinking 'Wow, a post-rock band that utilize electronics instead of sticking with guitars and effects pedals? Where do I sign up?' - well, don't get too ahead of yourself.  Port-Royal are a little more inspired on this record, but their somewhat unsteady and uncertain move across genres makes for a disappointingly disjointed listen.

There are perhaps two reasons why Dying In Time sounds all over the place. The departure of their drummer, mid-recording, possibly because he found his role increasingly undercut by that pesky drum machine in the corner, is one explanation for this venture further into electronic realms.  Certainly, the rhythm pattern on "Anna Ustinova" is not something a human could play, not without an oxygen tank on standby at least, and a lot of drummers take exception to a box of wires muscling in on their territory.  Another plausible possibility could stem from Port-Royal's new found role of in-demand remixers (Ladytron and Felix Da Housecat recently), which may have led to increased confidence sitting in front of a computer screen moving chunks of data around rather than standing and playing in a room.

It may seem that Port-Royal have completely jettisoned the Flares sound, and yet there are still echoes of the earlier work - the mournful piano and guitar of "I Used To Be Sad" is a dead-ringer for "Jeka"... right up until the moment a Lindstrøm-aping beat comes in, which further demonstrates that they've moved on.  Somebody’s been at the M83 pills again on "Susy: Blue East Fading," which starts off with ambient washes and ends up almost a disco track - it certainly becomes something that with a little editing could fit in a Balearic DJ's set.  "The Photoshopped Prince," featuring Muchy's Michal Wiraszko on vocals, is that most unlikely of things, a potential Port-Royal breakout single - and they revisit the melody on "Balding Generation", the following track (and actual lead single).

Port-Royal sound like a band in transition on Dying In Time, as if they are not entirely sure where they are headed next. It certainly seems as if most of the post-rock aspects of Port-Royal have been filtered out, aside from the final three-part track, a nod to their debut both in its triptych nature and its arrangement - particularly on the final third which sounds closer to a Flares track (with, ooh, live drums) than any else on this album.  Is it a final look back over their collective shoulder as they press onward, ever onward, or an indication that they have gone as far out as they dare and are hoping to return to their roots?  Only time will tell but we should applaud Port-Royal for trying to push their limits even if the result is not totally successful.

-Jeremy Bye