Wyckham Porteous

His latest album, 3 AM, has taken it's time, but Wyckham Porteous has finally done what he does best. He has emerged as a storyteller, but a storyteller whose personal experience gives the songs on this record a unified philosophical perspective. From a musical point of view, Wyckham has gone back to the rootsy format of his 1995 album, Looking For Ground. From this, it would be easy to conclude that he has traveled full circle, but that implies he is starting over. On the new Cordova Bay release 3 AM, he has invested the insight he has learned through the intervening years - of being exposed to the downtrodden people of Vancouver's east side and realizing what real suffering is about, of questioning the role of the songwriter, of discovering that writing stories is your destiny. Perhaps it has also helped that he took some time out to compose for the Leaky Heaven Circus and discovered his hidden clownself. There is an air of resignation about "Harper's Ferry" or "Ancient Heart", a hard won wisdom and a lighter touch than Looking For Ground conveyed. The songs are more forgiving. The stories might not be created from a personal perspective but in the end, the universal truth... more...