Whenever people ask us which city we think is the best for music, we always answer Norwich. Inevitably we receive more than our fair share of points and laughs when we do, but that is because Norwich remains the UKs best kept musical secret. Nestled within our Fine City’s walls is a burgeoning scene of numerous talented artists working across a multitude of genres.
One such artist is folk-rock combo Port Isla who released their debut single “Sinking Ship” last month. While there is an obvious and immediate temptation to break out the ‘Big Book of Sea-Based Puns’, we are going to leave them alone and concentrate on the music. It’s only fair to the band and anyway, once we get started it is very easy to drift off course and produce a meandering, rudderless post. Ahem.
“Sinking Ship” is possibly the catchiest piece of folk based tuneage we have heard all year. It’s a foot stamping, hand clapping, shake rattle and strum kind of a song. There’s an unmistakable KT Tunstall element to it but that shouldn’t put anyone off. This is an energetic piece of nautical storytelling that careers along all keys and guitars and harmonies. It’s a great introduction to a band that has already built a solid reputation in and around Norwich for their power-folk sounds and dodgy covers (last time we saw them play live it was a highly entertaining rendition of Take That’s “Rule The World”).
The video, made by singer Will Bloomfield with a little help from some friends, is a black and white journey of planes, trains, cars and yes, right there in the background at 1:44, a boat. It also features some good gig and behind the scenes footage which showcases the personality of the band really well. Take a watch and see what you think.
“Sinking Ship” is available for free from www.portisla.com.
Stalk Port Isla: Facebook / Twitter / Website / SoundCloud
Alphabet Bands 
I like a rough and ready music video, they dont all have to be made with massive budgets to get the point across, I like this.