Tom Portman: Float Your Blues Away

Tom Portman is a Galway multi-instrumentalist with a hand in many musical pies, not least the blues. The genre forms the backbone of this third solo album, but it's really his easy personality, expressed through wry humour and soft regret, that pervades a quietly pleasing collection of songs and instrumentals. Portman's voice is slight but not without character, and he makes the most of it on the humorous My Baby She's So Busy. Really, though, it's his measured, cultured playing that catches the ear, particularly his flying fingers on the instrumental trio of Dobro Boogie, John's Song and A Jump in My Step. That said, the Indian influences on the meandering and overly long The Dream strike an odd note in this generally svelte set. Portman closes with the title track, a soft-voiced invitation to a world without pressure. It's an apposite finale.
tomportmanmusic.com
Download: Float Your Blues Away, A Jump in My Step