Porches - Scrap and Love Songs Revisited

If you like: Lo-fi/4track, unusual songwriting and melodies

My first exposure to Porches was their (excellent) Slow Dance in the Cosmos, which was on heavy rotation for me in late 2014. But then my friend / Clouty frontman Scott Aiken mentioned in passing that he was really into the older stuff, so here we are.

Porches's Bandcamp wants you to start on track 4. I ignored this. I'm glad I did, because then I wouldn't have heard 'Sixteen' or 'Good Book'. 'Sixteen' is the sort of track that always feels like it's going to break, but never really does, content in a wash of lazy-in-a-good-way guitar and distant percussion. 'Good Book' is more straightforward and poppy. I like the crushed drum machine but it makes me miss the awesome drumming on Slow Dance.

The featured track, 'Daddies', shows the idiosyncratic phrasing that I love in Aaron Maine's songwriting. "every move // -y move //- y move" into the slowdown on "but you ain't coming home soon//" is both lyrically appropriate and creates an exciting tension. The vocal production on the last verse casts the song in a different space in retrospect. It's a great example of how even Porches's simple songs are dense with ideas.

I wasn't as into 'Kerosene Musk'. I like the texture but it wanders a bit. 'Weed' is beautiful, just simple and effective songwriting. I like the change from first to second person in the chorus. The acoustic sounds great, like all its edges have been sanded off.

The whole album was recorded on a 4 track, per the Bandcamp page. I love the tape hiss, saturation, and distortion that permeates the record. Scrap and Love Songs Revisited is a great example of how a record can have a demo-y vibe and still feel aesthetically consistent and 'finished.'

The bonus songs are great too, though (obviously) less finished. 'Annah' is another example of Porches' taste for unusual and interesting melody and phrasing.

Slow Dance in the Cosmos is still in my personal top slot, but I'm glad I listened to this.