Post punk is typically a fast and aggressive genre of music, but Porridge Radio change that on their latest single. "End of Last Year" is filled with synths and is a more gentle take on their style. It's a lovely song, even as the intensity gets ramped up. And this is a song that's intense, despite how laid back it starts out. Dana Margolin's vocals propel this song and completely drive the emotion, with backing vocals and instruments merely following Margolin's lead. This one reminds me of a current version of Yeah Yeah Yeah's now immortal "Maps." Plus, with a title like "End of Last Year," this is perfect to suggest to the graduating seniors in your life.
Dana Margolin says of the new song:
"'End Of Last Year' is a love song for my bandmates and for myself. It’s about not trusting my intuition, not trusting my body to heal itself, not trusting the people closest to me, but it is also an ode to all those people, and to difficult platonic love. It came out of a particularly painful period of communication breakdown and high pressure that hurt a lot, but ended in reconciliation and understanding."
You can watch the video for "End of Last Year" below. Waterslide, Diving Board, Ladder to the Sky is due out May 20 on Secretly Canadian, and can be pre-ordered here. For more on Porridge Radio, check out the band's Facebook and Twitter. Upcoming tour dates are below the video, and let's hope they squeeze in a Boston date between Chicago and New York.
Fri. May 20 - Manchester, UK @ Piccadilly Records Sat. May 21 - Edinburgh, UK @ The Great Eastern Sun. May 22 - Leeds, UK @ Crash Records Tue. May 24 - London, UK @ Rough Trade East Wed. May 25 - Brighton, UK @ Resident Music Thu. May 26 - Bristol, UK @ Rough Trade Records Thu. May 26 - Sun. May 29 - Walton-on-trent, UK @ Bearded Theory’s Spring Gathering Fri. May 27 - Totnes, UK @ Sea Change Festival Sat. Jun. 4 - Barcelona, ES @ Primavera Sound Weekend 1 Wed. Jun. 8 - London, UK @ O2 Academy Brixton Sat. Jun. 11 - Hilvarenbeek, NE @ Best Kept Secret Festival Wed. Jun. 29 - Sat. Jul. 2 - Ydynia, PL @ Open’er Festival Fri. Jul. 8 - Soliera, IT @ Arti Vive Sat. Jul. 9 - Siena, IT @ LARS ROCK FEST Thu. Jul. 14 - Sat. Jul. 16 - Budapest, HU @ Reflektor Festival Fri. Jul. 15 - Stirling, UK @ Doune the Rabbit Hole Festival Fri. Jul. 22 - Southwold, UK @ Latitude Festival Sat. Jul. 23 - Macclesfield, UK @ Bluedot Festival Tue. Aug. 9 - Stockholm, SE @ Hus 7 Thu. Aug. 11 - Oslo, NO @ Øyaestivalen Sun. Aug. 14 - Kiewit-Hasselt, BE @ HEAR HEARI Mon. Aug. 15 - Wubterthur, CH @ 47. Winterthurer Musikfestwochen Tue. Aug. 16 - Sat. Aug. 20 - Paredes de Coura, PT @ Paredes de Coura Festival Thu. Sep. 1 - Sun. Sep. 4 - Sixpenny Handley, UK @ End of the Road Festival Tue. Sept. 6 - San Diego, CA @ Casbah Wed. Sept. 7 - Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room Fri. Sept. 9 - San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop Mon. Sept. 12 - Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Tue. Sept. 13 - Seattle, WA @ Barboza Thu. Sept. 15 - Boise, ID @ Neurolux Fri. Sept. 16 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court Sat. Sept. 17 - Denver, CO @ Lost Lake Mon. Sept. 19 - Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry Tue. Sept. 20 - Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle Fri. Sept. 23 - New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom Sat. Sept. 24 - Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s Sun. Sept. 25 - Washington, DC @ DC9 Tue. Sept. 27 - Atlanta, GA @ Earl Wed. Sept. 28 - Nashville, TN @ Basement East Fri. Sept. 30 - Dallas, TX @ Three Links Sat. Oct. 1 - Austin, TX @ Parish Sat. Oct. 15 - Digbeth, UK @ The Crossing Digbeth Thu. Oct. 20 - Sheffield, UK @ Southampton 1865 Sat. Oct. 22 - Exeter, UK @ Exeter Phoenix Arts Centre Mon. Oct. 24 - Nottingham, UK @ Metronome Tue. Oct. 25 - Bristol, UK @ Trinity Centre Wed. Oct. 26 - Cambridge, UK @ Cambridge Junction Fri. Oct. 28 - Glasgow, UK @ Saint Luke’s Sat. Oct. 29 - Manchester, UL @ Manchester Academy 2 Sun. Oct. 30 - Leeds, UK @ Leeds Irish Centre Tue. Nov. 1 - Hove, UK @ The Old Market Wed. Nov. 2 - Hove, UK @ The Old Market Thu. Nov. 3 - London, UL @ 02 Shepherds Bush Empire Fri. Nov. 11 - Amsterdam, NE @ Melkweg OZ Sat. Nov. 12 - Maastricht, NE @ Muziekgieterij Sun. Nov. 13 - Cologne, DE @ Club Volta Wed. Nov. 16 - Lyon, FR @ Le Sonic Thu. Nov. 17 - Milan, IT @ Biko Sat. Nov. 19 - Bologna, IT @ Covo Club Sun. Nov. 20 - Annecy, FR @ Le Brise Glace Tue. Nov. 22 - Barcelona, ES @ La 2 de Apolo Thu. Nov. 24 - Vigo, ES @ Radar Estudios Fri. Nov. 25 - Guimaraes, PT @ Centro Cultural Vila Flor (CCVF) Mon. Nov. 28 - Madrid, ES @ Independance Club Tue. Nov. 29 - San Sebastián, ES @ Dabadaba Thu. Dec. 1 - Bordeaux, FR @ Rock School Barbey Fri. Dec. 2 - La Rochelle, FR @ La Siréne Sun. Dec. 4 - Bruges, BE @ Cactus Club Mon. Dec. 5 - Luxembourg, LU @ Rotondes Wed. Dec. 7 - Zürich, CH @ Bogen F Thu. Dec. 8 - Munich, DE @ Kranhalle, Feierwerk Sat. Dec. 10 - Vienna, AT @ Flex Sun. Dec. 11 - Prague, CZ @ Café V Lese Mon. Dec. 12 - Berlin, DE @ Festsaal Kreuzberg Fri. Dec. 16 - Hamburg, DE @ Hafenklang Sat. Dec. 17 - Copenhagen, DK @ Lille Vega, VEGA
Photo by Alexa Viscius This may be Liam Kazar's debut single, but the Chicago based musician already has an impressive resume, having worked with Jeff Tweedy, Chance the Rapper, Steve Gunn, Daniel Johnston, and others. "Shoes Too Tight" features childhood friend Spencer Tweedy on drums, Lane Beckstrom on bass, and Ohmme on vocals. It's an absurdly fun and groovy little song that is a party waiting to happen. What he gives us here is a timeless song that could truly have been released any time since the 1960's (ok... maybe not the 80's...) There are elements of classic rock, 60's crooners and R&B, indie rock, modern Americana... it's really just packed with everything in a cohesive song that maintains the vibe the entire way through. You can watch the video for "Shoes Too Tight" below. For more on Liam Kazar, check him out on Instagram and Twitter . He's also raising money on his Bandcamp for Constellation and The Hungry Brain. ...
Photo via Facebook When you're a rock band from Salem, MA, you have to have at least one song about witchcraft. The Freqs have fulfilled their obligation with a banger of a song. "Witch" is this giant monster of a song, filled with fuzz and strained, screaming vocals. This is the type of song that doesn't usually exist in this century. It's giving me some serious 90's flashbacks, like if Hum got aggressive or Alice in Chains decided to do some damage on the college charts. As great as the vocals are in "Witch," what's really drawing me in is the instrumental break down that takes over about halfway through. This is the kind of song to make the hipsters and the headbangers equally excited. You can listen to "Witch" below. For more on The Freqs, check out the band on Facebook and Instagram . The Freqs · Witch
How is Dutch ReBelle not a national superstar at this point? The Boston MC just released "GOONIEZ," and I know I'm a bit out of touch with current mainstream hip hop, but this song is absolutely killer. It's a stripped down hip hop song that has this futuristic space age sound to it. Plus, ReBelle's flow is unsurpassed. You can't listen to her and not be completely sucked in. The song has a feel reminiscent of classic Missy Elliott. As much as I love that we can still see Dutch ReBelle in smaller Boston venues, "GOONIEZ" proves she should be playing much larger venues nationwide very, very soon. You can watch the video for "GOONIEZ" below. For more on Dutch ReBelle, check out the artist's website .
