The self-effacing title sadly signals the end for Scott Sinfield's Portal "at least in its present form". Whilst Sinfield continues to work closely on the Make Mine Music label which he founded, he has certainly been no slouch in making his own music; matching the output of labelmates Yellow6 and Epic45 and excelling in his own form of melodic electronic music. Never one to go for the obvious, 'Gone But Not Forgiven' is not a "best of" but a chance for fans to catch up on rare early tracks and different versions of more recent material.
The chronological order of this release proves that Sinfield grew from a songwriter with a Cocteau Twins/Durutti Column fixation (never a bad thing, to be honest) to an arranger of darker, more complex material as proved by the inclusion of songs from 'Waves & Echoes', his most recent album. A crucial part of the Portal sound were the contributions from Rachel Hughes, whose "little girl lost" vocals added a sense of vulnerability to the nightmarish soundscapes conjured up by her former partner. Along the way came the stunning 'An Open Sky'; a beautiful instrumental piece of ambient elegance. Of the remixes, Ben Holton from Epic45 provides an excellent reworking of 'Trace' whilst Sinfield's interpretation of Yellow6's 'Series 1' is layered with his trademark dreaminess. It seems unlikely that Sinfield will ever be apart from music so the next chapter in the story should be a riveting read.