We Spoke to Express Office Portico Ahead of Their Old Cold Store Gig Next Week

Hey guys! By the time this interview comes out, your EP Incommunicado will have been released. How are you feeling?

Excited! We’re looking forward to everyone listening to it and hearing what people think, it’s been a long time coming!

Where did the title come from and how do the tracks from the EP link to the title?

The inspiration for the name comes from a poem written by Sylvia Plath about the inability or lack of wanting to communicate with others. We have lyrics written about topics such as trauma, substance abuse, and unstable relationships and our overarching theme is the inability to communicate with and fully understand the world we live in whilst experiencing these things, so Incommunicado seemed like a perfect fit!

I’m lucky enough to have heard the whole EP in advance but at the time of writing these questions, you have released two singles, Are You Yourself and No One, and you’re releasing a third single too, He Said, She Said, in about a weeks’ time. What made you decide to release these tracks as teasers for the EP?

Mostly, we just couldn’t wait to get them out there! But we also wanted to create a bit of a build-up. It’s nice to put a focus on tracks individually and see how they do. We’ve had some lovely feedback so far.

The singles you have released so far have both received support from BBC Introducing. How much does that help emerging artists like yourself?

It’s a massive help! We’ve been lucky enough to have everything we’ve put out so far played by Dean Jackson and the team at BBC Introducing in the Midlands and we’re always hoping it reaches new people who could potentially become fans. It’s always a special feeling hearing your tracks on the radio and we know he receives hundreds of submissions every week from brilliant artists, so we’re happy we can cut through the mix.

For people who haven’t heard your music before and are planning on checking out the EP, how would you describe your sound to them? Or, for people who have heard your music, how would you say it differs from your previous releases?

We had a vision for this EP as a new twist on a seventies sound. We’ve had some kind comparisons in the past to a modern Fleetwood Mac. Tara’s vocal often gets likened to Stevie Nicks, and it’s a legendary band we all love, so it’s very flattering! We also take inspiration from modern artists like Men I Trust, Tame Impala and Future Islands and wrap it up into a funky, danceable package.

Back in February, you supported The Deep Blue at The Bodega, alongside Jemma Johnson. How was that show?

So much fun! The Deep Blue and Jemma Johnson were both lovely and there was a real sense of support and camaraderie from all the artists and their respective fans. We received some lovely feedback afterwards as well. One person mentioned that they’d come to see us especially but really got into the other acts as well, which is exactly what you want out of a show like that. The support from DHP has always been wonderful too and we love playing The Bodega, it’s one of our favourites. 

Last year, you played cities like Newcastle and Manchester for the first time. How was the experience of playing outside of your hometown?

We had a blast! Manchester was a real suck it and see gig. We’d never done anything there and wanted to see if it would work. We managed to get amazing support from Olivia Browse and Betsey B at the Eagle Inn, which helped a lot! We made new friends and had a wonderful night.

We’d been chatting to the Newcastle based band, Cat Ryan, for a while about doing shows together and the opportunity finally came up! We supported them at their sell out hometown show in Newcastle at Bobiks on Halloween weekend last year. We all dressed up like skeletons and made a night of it! When we started, we weren’t sure if the crowd were into it, but by the end of the set people were dancing and cheering, which is so great to see! There were some celebrations afterwards, and a few of us may have had a bit too much to drink that night, good times!

Have you got any shows, particularly in Nottingham, coming up to celebrate the EP? Have you got any festivals coming up this year?

Yes, we have a show at The Old Cold Store (The Vat and Fiddle) on 11 April to celebrate the launch of our EP. We’re super excited to have local band Catmilk supporting us there as well. Tickets are available through our socials, just head to our bio on Instagram @ExpressOfficePortico, and there’s a link in there!

Which tracks from the EP are you most excited to perform live? Are there any you have performed live already? If so, how did they go down with the crowd?

We’ve performed all the tracks live already as we normally use live performances to test things out and you can tell quickly how well they’ve gone down with a crowd. Collectively we’d say In Swim is the most exciting for us to play live now. Mainly because it was the last thing we wrote, and it still feels new. It came together quite quickly from an old demo that we’d rediscovered and was the first song Sam (our new guitarist) was let loose on!

Is there anything else you want to use this opportunity to shout about?

I think we’d just like to say thanks to everyone who’s supported us so far, including everyone at LeftLion, it’s really inspiring to feel like you have the support of your hometown! Watch this space, we’ve only just begun! 

Incommunicado is out now and the EP launch gig will take place on 11 April at the Old Cold Store

@expressofficeportico