Porridge Radio – Clouds In the Sky They Will Always Be There For Me

Porridge Radio return with their fourth LP, the follow-up to 2022’s wonderful Waterslide, Diving Board, Ladder to the Sky. It’s a tough act to follow, but if nothing else Clouds In the Sky They Will Always Be There For Me beats their previous record for longest album title.

Joking aside, Porridge Radio are one of the most dependably consistent bands out there, and their brand of dejected slacker indie/alt-rock, particularly on songs like A Hole In the Ground or Lavender Raspberries, will grab you, hold you tight, and won’t let go. Much of Porridge Radio’s appeal is down to band leader Dana Margolin, whose cracked vocals and poetic lyrics radiate passion and melancholy, while her guitar-playing dances between the subtle, the sombre, and the outright cathartic. The rest of the band (Georgie Stott, Sam Yardley and Dan Hutchins) complement Margolin’s style with moody backing vocals, longing keyboard flourishes, and drum licks and bass lines that range from the leisurely to the bombastic.

Is Clouds In the Sky... better than Waterslide...? They both reward repeated listens so time will tell. Does it matter? No. Fans will love it, and new listeners, who fall in love on the strength of this album, have a stellar back catalogue to devour.

Listen to: A Hole In the Ground, Lavender Raspberries