Futurebirds: Portico II
Athens, Ga.-based outfit Futurebirds have delivered their brand of country-soaked indie-rock since their debut in 2013, and their latest offering comes in the form of part two of their Portico EP series, which began with last year’s Portico I. Both releases pair a new original track with three covers and although they were recorded while the band was working on their next record, the songs were always meant to be a separate entity. In slight contrast to the first EP’s single, the pensive “Only Here for Your Love,” Portico II’s lone original composition is the more tongue-in-cheek, love-song romp “Olive Garden Daydream #47.” The song’s lyrics follow the hypothetical musings of a protagonist proposing a string of everyman romantic gestures, such as the titular trip to Olive Garden, thanks to a gift certificate from his sister or a road trip financed by credit card points where they can “empty out the entire minibar, get drunk, order pizzas and screw till dawn.” Despite its humor, the tune’s earnest intentions and comfortable melodic structure provide a warm kickoff to the four-song EP, which also features covers of Heron, Desire and Til Tuesday. The songs borrow from three distinct decades, though Desire’s more recent “Under Your Spell” certainly takes from the ‘80s ethos in which Til Tuesday’s “Voices Carry” was written. While Heron’s twangy ’70s cut “Big A” marks the biggest throwback, Futurebirds manage to adapt them all perfectly into their own laid-back wheelhouse.