Tension that erupts in swirls of guitars.
Sometimes, you listen to a few songs by a newer artist and you know that the year is going to be theirs. That’s the case with Porridge Radio. Hailing from Brighton, Britain, the four-piece makes kinetic, addictive songs that slowly climb, explode and quiet down, only to come roaring back again. Their songs are constructed through a build-up of tension and release, the music making your pulse do the same.
On “Sweet,” spindly touches of guitars are gently plucked out until they are submerged in a wave of distorted chords that fill up every inch of the speakers. “My mum says that I look like a nervous wreck/Because I bite my nails right down to the flesh,” Dana Margolin sings, her steady voice shot through with a growing rage and frustration. With a new relationship on her mind, her voice spells out an inner monologue that’s either honestly open or committed to destruction. You’ll want to listen again and again to try and find out.
“Sweet” is on Porridge Radio’s new album, Every Bad, due out on March 13 via Secretly Canadian.