TRACK: I Woke Up Today

WHO: Port O’Brien – a Bay Area folk quintet with a CV that reads well in fishing and trawling circles.

WHAT: happy-clapping power folk.

THE HYPE: “Inspired by summers in Alaska salmon fishing, this scrappy folk-rock sing-along does sound like wide-eyed crew about to shove off into the briny unknown.” Spin

WE SAY: I’ve seen shows like The Deadliest Catch, and even the thought of ever working on a trawler for five minutes is doing me no good. So I’m already in awe of singer/guitarist/cum salmon fisher Van Pierszalowski before we even talk about his band.

Like Bon Iver – who the band fittingly supported recently – their songs are borne of long periods spent living away from modern society, surviving close to nature. But while For Bon Iver’s Emma, Forever Ago sounds like watching the season’s change from a rocking chair, I Woke Up Today seems to capture the primal energy of life in the raw. Honestly, it’s so vibrant and lively, it sounds a sea shanty version Primal Scream’s Rocks recorded by the Polyphonic Spree after Popeye had given them the keys to his spinach stash.

Although, maybe being in a band that offered the chance of escaping a life of dawn starts, freezing conditions and the vague option of death would lift your spirits too.

IF I ONLY KNOW ONE THING: For his troubles, Van has been walloped by a winch hook, almost left adrift at sea on a buoy and stung by a sting ray. There’s a possible shark/music industry gag there, but I’m gonna leave it.

WHERE CAN I GET IT: I Woke Up Today is released on July 7 on City Slang. Their debut album All We Could Do Was Sing follows on August 4.

FIND MORE: www.myspace.com/portobrien

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