Album Review: Porches – The House
2 min read
Few times I imagined myself dancing in a club in the 80s or 90s, although after opening my eyes I realised I was listening to Porches’ new album, The House, in my room. Synth-pop, alternative, new wave: these are just few of the influences that characterise the third album from Porches (Aaron Maine).
Despite the simplicity of Leave The House’s structure, built on the melody, the main vocals and the chorus, its construction is what makes the track interesting. Each element is individually introduced and then brutally put to an end one by one, delivering the same level of interest for each component.
Find Me, the second single extracted from the album, is a straightforward representation of how anxiety makes someone feel, associating it to the idea of isolation and evasion: “And when I feel it coming down / I can’t have anyone ‘round / I can’t let it find me”. The seriousness of the theme and the calm tone of the dark and deep vocals contradict with the dancing vibes of the melody, distinguished by drum beats. Find Me’s structure makes the track exceptionally hypnotic and seductive.
Åkeren and W Longing undeniably made me feel something, although I am not sure whether it was a pleasant or negative experience. The high pitched sounds and the tension of the rhythm created an unstable melody evoking discomfort and uncertainty. However, the short and warm jazz saxophone segment at the end of W Longing is a surprising development of the track, acting like an hidden gem among the electronic riffs.
The House is a journey among Aaron Maine’s experiences, wrote as a necessity to document a period of his life as a way to understand his thoughts. Despite Porches’ third album is definitely unique and listening to it is a real emotional experience, some songs lack of identity.
