I am, for a reviewer, very receptive to bad production. After all, I have the ubiquitous Black Flag tattoo and all. A good song is a good song regardless how its recorded. But when a song isn’t very good, record it and mix it badly and you have a bit of an earsore.
I can hear what Porpoise are going for. I’m guessing they like their Fugazi and they like their Pavement. But this 4 track EP falls short of the mark. It’s too twee in places and too self indulgent in others. It’s a dangerous game to play to try and play the kind of 90s Americana that the aforementioned bands pedalled – especially when you don’t have either a sense of humour in your music or a touch of musical genius and a history of shouting down in a hardcore band. Add an English accent and if you’re not careful you get a poor imitation of Athlete. And no-one wants to see that. Let alone if you produce it badly.
Porpoise just seem to pull off pretentious and lost in one go. I like to find the best in music I get for review, but this one is hard work.
Mike