At certain points on Porridge Radio’s fourth studio album, waves of dense, crescendoing arrangements arrive, such as the swelling opener “Anybody” or the hauntingly raw “Lavender Raspberries.” , which threatens to drown frontwoman Dana, but is never fully dealt with. Totally Margolin. Written after intense touring and romantic turmoil, Clouds In The Sky They Will Always Be There For Me is, in many ways, a swimming record. It is a series of works that document not shipwrecks or rescues, but rather the frenzied efforts made below the surface to keep oneself afloat. Inspired by professional burnout and personal heartbreak, the work explores how artists channel much of their identity into external channels, namely work and relationships, without losing their grip on themselves. We are grappling with the difficult question of whether we can invest in
It’s no surprise that all 11 tracks on “Clouds…” started out as poems. Where 2020’s breakout record “Every Bad” found Porridge Radio in the midst of a post-punk fraternity, Dana’s lyricism and expressiveness are here to be heard by the likes of Sharon Van Etten and Waze Blood (“Wednesday”). ”, “In a Dream”). , their evolution over the course of the album reflects a slow but steady inclination towards thematic light. At first, there’s a kind of ragged desperation in the tone of her voice, especially in the urgent “I’m trying to reach for you” refrain of “Anybody.” Meanwhile, the string-led “God Of Everything Else” finds her lighting a quiet fire of resilience as she sips through a volatile and vulnerable breakup cocktail of loss, self-loathing, jealousy and anger. It is depicted (“It’s not like I’m doing that”) too much / You just don’t have the courage”).
“You Will Come Home”, the record’s electronic-tinged midpoint, acts as the eye of the storm, a place of emotional purgatory where Dana longs for more specific days (“You Will Come Home”) And it is this sense that mental and emotional progress can often be hard won that inspires the triumphant closer, “Sic. That makes the final flourish of “Of the Blues” all the more satisfying. Here, there are still traces of the same ragged despair in Dana’s voice, but this time we hear the edge of defiance – the sound of hope.
