Carving a niche in the indie-folk movement all their own, Port O'Brien have struck quite a chord with listeners on their third release, 2009's Threadbare. Produced this time around by Earlimart's Aaron Espinoza, Threadbare manages to become quite an emotional rollercoaster, due mostly to it's exquisite tracking. Bookended by two separate versions of High Without Hope, this disk absolutely reflects both a sense of tragedy and loss (vocalist Cambria Goodwin lost her 17 year old brother in a car accident during the early stages of recording Threadbare), while somehow still managing to sound eerily optimistic. Both Goodwin and vocalist/songwriter Van Pierszalowski both leave their homes in northern California to spend summer months working in the commercial fishing industry in Alaska, and that feeling of cold, lonely days work there way into several tracks here. Listen how track 9's Leap Year begins "Never been to church on Sunday/guess I always just felt alright", comes right after the desolate sounding Calm Me Down, for example. Other standouts include the previously released Tree Bones, Oslo Campfire, Sour Milk/Salt Water, and the single My Will Is Good, which also happens to have the best jump rope themed video ever. Fans of Bon Iver?, Band Of Horses, and Modest Mouse, take heart.