Brighton Riot-Girl Punk-Rock Emo Scream-core  heroes hit with Pasta, Rice and other Fillers

Porridge Radio were already one of our favourite live bands. Georgina’s self-confessed bouncing and squawking distracting us from the impassioned vocals and punk rock guitar of front person and songwriter Dana in turn distracting us from one of the tightest rhythm sections in town in the form of Sam and Matilda. Seriously distracting.

And now after an array of demos and occasional ad hoc releases they’ve gone and produced one of the best albums you’re likely to hear all year. It’s all riot-girl and punk rock, but full of dynamic structural changes and an underpinning of brilliant lyricism.

Dana Margolin does young-person angst better than anyone we’ve heard for quite a while. In ‘Barks like a dog’ she takes a well-worn phrase, stretches it further and then puts the knife to the canvas of her emotions: “Beauty seeps in the cracks where the pain comes in,” she sings, before noting that “all the things that break me and really hurt me keep me sane and warm“. And she sounds sane and warm.

That song precedes a cover of Daniel Johnston’s Walking the Cow, which in turn is followed by the stunning ‘Can You Hear Me Now’ which typifies the prolonged scream at which the band seem to excel.

“My problems are meaningless so listen to someone else
I’m sick to death of me
Listen to yourself listen to someone else
I’m sick to death of me…”

‘Can You Hear Me Now’ is brilliant and it’s followed by the stunning ‘Sorry’. More emotion, more passion, more pain, more confusion, wrapped up in a musical whirlwind:

“Theres one hundred ways of dealing with this shit But I think I’ve only got the energy To cry”

The shorter track that follows, ‘Worms’, takes a simple metaphor of “this is the worm speaking to the maggot” to comment on modern culture and tears apart the veneer of celebrity and comparative privilege:

“It’s a beautiful day for an ugly girl to wake up feeling pretty,” she sings.

Those are probably our three favourite tracks and they encapsulate the themes that flow throughout the album. There are plenty more thrilling and memorable moments.

Now you have no excuse not to discover Porridge Radio for yourself and we think you’ll love them as much as we do. They regularly gig in Brighton so check out their facebook page for more details.

The album ‘Rice, Pasta & Other Fillers’ is available on limited edition cassette or as a free download from Memorials of Distinction on bandcamp

Review and photograph by Jon Southcoasting