Local Review: Head Portals – A Lesson In Object Permanence

Head Portals
A Lesson In Object Permanence
Casa de Portales
Street: 08.16
Head Portals = Title Fight + Modest Mouse x Wilco  

Head Portals is a kaleidoscope of genres, their influences acting as their own refracting light, overlapping or melding with another. Each time you look at them, their reflection is sure to show something new, some other dimension you hadn’t heard the last time around. The band’s third album, A Lesson In Object Permanence, is no different, though it enjoys sitting back comfortably to lounge rather than getting up to rock. 

The opening instrumental tracks of “Oubliette” slide effortlessly between slick, heavy riffs and metal-like growls, and dive backward into harsh and distorted noisescapes. The following songs “Leak,” “Ice,” “Mouth,” “House of Shadows” and “Blacking Out” all settle into moody, almost lullabye-esque riffs and soft-spoken vocals from their multiple vocalists. This is much of the meat of the album and reminds me a lot of the toned down and more heartfelt Modest Mouse tracks off of The Lonesome Crowded West or even their single “Sleepwalking (Couples Only Dance At Night)” off of Interstate 8. They’re all songs you’d turn on when you need to ponder or grieve, laying back and staring at the ceiling. The album doesn’t pick up speed until “Chasm,” a moody and almost emo-rock ska track that serenades the listener with a wild saxophone that honestly works a lot better than I make it sound. 

This group borrows heavily from the whirlpool of 2000s alt-rock, taking many of the sounds and tropes of the era and executing them effortlessly and with their own flair. And while there are a lot of wonderful performances on this album, they do play it a bit safe and low-key. The highlights for me are the moments when the group is experimenting a bit more outside of the repeated riffs and give their instruments more time to wander. “Mouth,” “Snake” and “Water” are all killer and drift outside of the status quo of the record. That being said, it’s a great and vibrant status quo, and if you grew up in the 2000s or 2010s, you’ll find an instant sense of nostalgia in this album.  

Anyone who knows this band knows I’ve left something critical out of this review until now: Head Portals is no more. In a cryptic Instagram story post, the group announced an unexpected break-up before A Lesson In Object Permanence was even released. I won’t speculate as to why. Local bands fracture, drift or tear themselves apart eventually and when it inevitably happens, it’s not something to cast aspersions over. What I will say is that this album is a hell of a swan song and something I wish had the chance to be performed live. Now, it gets added to the mountain of musical “what ifs.” –wphughes 

Read more local album reviews:
Local Review: Hoppy – Little While
Local Review: Desert Camo – Desert Camo