There comes a point in many Porridge Radio songs when the intensity ramps up, repetition of a key line or chorus thunders in and the Brighton quartet unleash fury with their jagged, weirdly euphoric indie rock. Frontwoman Dana Margolin has spoken recently about how the band’s work takes a toll on her. Still, she continues to scour her recent relationships on Clouds with a passion that can be exhausting – although it’s carefully structured so you wade through emotional heavy weather before emerging into something like sunlight by the last track, air-punch anthem Sick of the Blues.
Their music becomes euphoric because the repetition doesn’t just signal monomania. It’s survival, constancy, a refusal to back down or be beaten by heartbreak. Anybody, God of Everything Else and In a Dream I’m a Painting are exquisite examples of this. A vibe shift occurs in the album’s latter half as the combative guitars recede, leaving more space for Margolin’s spiky poetry, contemplative brass and some quieter, prettier moments. You’re left thinking it must be slightly terrifying to be the object of Margolin’s affections, but also deeply pleasing to have songs this fervent written about you.
