#12 on the 2022 Bacon Top 31 — Porridge Radio

Waterslide, Diving Board, Ladder To the Sky by Porridge Radio

When I moved to Seattle in 1997, I was introduced to a a few things in quick succession that opened my eyes to the world of music. First came “public radio:” kexp.org. Prior to then, I had no idea there could be radio without commercials screaming at you. Next came “club shows.” I’d been to a few concerts, some even in smaller venues (Tori Amos in the 250 person Sooner Theatre in 1992 being my first ever concert), but the idea that a venue existed where different bands performed multiple times a week was entirely foreign to me prior to moving to Seattle. And finally, “local music.” Of course I knew a band or two locally in Oklahoma, but the idea that a city could sustain multiple bands playing multiple venues around town regularly and only rarely escape the city limits was beyond my comprehension.

It was there, in those formative, new-to-Seattle days that my love of indie rock solidified. Sky Cries Mary, Death Cab for Cutie, Built to Spill, Damien Jurado, Modest Mouse — these bands were all essentially in my back yard, any one of them playing a show nearby on any given weekend, along with countless other, less well-known but still equally as-good bands.

Into this miasma of fuzz is where my hearing-deprived brain wants to throw the band who occupies the #12 spot on the 2022 Top 31, despite the band being from nowhere near Seattle, and with over 20 years separating me from those formative days of my youth. Porridge Radio, from Brighton, England, are a throwback to an era not too far away in spirit, but far enough away to be able to legally drink in the US.

Led by the dynamic singer / songwriter / lead guitarist Dana Margolin, Porridge Radio brings a heavy amount of spite and angst to their songs that feels urgent and unbridled. Behind her is Georgie Stott on keyboards, Maddie Ryall on bass, and drummer Sam Yardley. Waterslide, Diving Board, Ladder To the Sky is the band’s third LP since forming in 2015. Their last album, the critically acclaimed Every Bad, came out March 13, 2020, exactly six days before I packed up my desk and told my boss “I have to worry about my family, I’m going to work from home for the next couple weeks.” According to Pitchfork, Margolin had already started writing “Back to the Radio,” featured in the video above, when Every Bad came out.

Go ahead and hit play on the video above. It has all the things I love about indie rock – fuzzed out, strong guitars; heavy drums that start out low and build; and a dynamic, charismatic hero/heroin at the fore, giving it their all. Multiple songs on the album convey this same feeling. Together, the album is a real triumph. I haven’t yet heard Every Bad, but a few months ago I did get to see Porridge Radio live on an actual stage. Barboza was packed, with its low ceiling and narrow build, and Margolin filled it out wonderfully. I can’t wait to experience it again. Prepare yourself as well – listen to the album, and then go with me the next time they come through town.

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13. I Walked with You a Ways by Plains
14. The Last Goodbye by Odesza
15. A Light for Attracting Attention by The Smile
16. Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers by Kendrick Lamar
17. Inside Problems by Andrew Bird
18. Laurel Hell by Mitski
19. Full Moon Project by Phosphorescent
20. Skinty Fia by Fontaines D.C.
21. I Love You Jennifer B by Jockstrap
22. Too Much to Ask by Cheekface
23. Dripfield by Goose
24. Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You by Big Thief
25. And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow by Weyes Blood
26. NOT TiGHT by DOMi & JD BECK
27. Preacher’s Daughter by Ethel Cain
28. Live at KEXP, vol. 10 by Various Artists
29. All You Need Is Time by Daisy the Great
30. Cool It Down by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
31. CAPRISONGS by FKA twigs

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#20 on the 2018 Bacon Top 31 — Death Cab for Cutie

Thank You for Today by Death Cab for Cutie

Death Cab for Cutie, the little indie emo band that could, has been with me for nearly half my life. Their debut album, Something About Airplanes, came out shortly after I moved to Seattle, and connected with the early-20-something me like nothing else had before. And then their next three albums solidified their place in my brain, permanently engraved and ready to call upon when needed. There hasn’t always been love from me for the band — their four most recent albums, recorded for the much-bigger music label Atlantic, haven’t stood the same test of time (their last album to be featured on the Top 31, Codes and Keys, was #12 in 2011, but their utterly forgettable 2015 album Kintsugi was utterly forgotten).

And now Thank You for Today, the band’s tenth album (if you include their original demo album You Can Play These Songs with Chords), and their first without co-lead-songwriter Chris Walla (who departed the band just before the release of Kintsugi), somehow found its way into my go-to listens for the year. The beauty of lead singer/songwriter Ben Gibbard’s lyrics have always needed strong music to back them up (just listen to his offshoot album as Postal Service), and that’s what Walla brought to the table. Without him, the songs on this album feel transitory and ephemeral. Alternately, since I’m no longer in my 20s, maybe the dynamic range of my emotions is muted, or redirected. Gibbard continues to write about urbanism (see the above video for “Gold Rush,” all about Seattle’s insanity from the last ten years) and romanticism, but my emotional connections lie elsewhere.

I struggle to put my finger on why, exactly, given the above difficulties, but #20 is where this album gets placed. Not one of the best from the year, but better than the worst 11 out of 31 for the year. Ambiguous and inexplicable, just like the music within.

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21. Black Panther: The Album by Kendrick Lamar
22. Suspiria (Music for the Luca Guadagnino Film) by Thom Yorke
23. Merrie Land by The Good, the Bad & the Queen
24. Room 25 by Noname
25. WARM by Jeff Tweedy
26. God's Favorite Customer by Father John Misty
27. Vessel by Frankie Cosmos
28. For Ever by Jungle
29. Twerp Verse by Speedy Ortiz
30. Remain in Light by Angélique Kidjo
31. This One’s for the Dancer & This One’s for the Dancer’s Bouquet by Moonface

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#2 on the 2016 Bacon Top 31

Visions of Us On the Land by Damien Jurado

My 2016 was most defined by the artist here at #2, Damien Jurado. In a way, Jurado has been a part of my time here in Seattle since moving here in 1997. I first saw him perform when he opened for Death Cab for Cutie at what was then called Graceland (and is now El Corazón) back in 2001 (I’m pretty sure I was standing right next to this guy). And I’ve been following Jurado’s career ever since.

Unlike most every other band out there, I can say — unequivocally — that Jurado has gotten better and better. This is not just your typically clichéd comment about an aging rocker. For once, I mean it. Jurado’s last three albums, a trilogy created with producer Richard Swift, demonstrate that his songwriting is at the top of his game.

Jurado has been through his fair share of trials and tribulations. I had the immense pleasure of seeing Jurado perform twice this year, first at the Neptune back in May (with a full band), and then again, solo, in the beautiful St. Mark’s Cathedral on December 3. When you see him in concert, he is always sitting in a chair with his acoustic guitar on his lap. Which made the show at St. Mark’s all that more surprising, because he was performing standing up. Three-fourths of the way through the concert, he asked for a chair to be brought up to the stage, performed another song, and then told a long story that revealed the reason he asked for a chair ten minutes prior: he was having a panic attack, right there on stage. The show never stopped, the music was as powerful as always, and he performed through it. But wow if that’s not a moving experience.

All three of Jurado’s recent albums have been on the Top 31. Maraqopa at #5 in 2012 and Brothers and Sisters of the Eternal Son at #0 in 2014 (there was a clerical error that year that forced this album off the proper countdown, but it would have been in the Top 5 for sure). And now here at #2 is the coup de grace. It’s a truly phenomenal record.

I worry about where Jurado will go from here, with this trilogy now complete. Is this the pinnacle? Does he have more music in him? Will he work with Richard Swift again? I selfishly want even more out of him. But at least we have these three albums to listen to, forever. Visions of Us On the Land is his twelfth studio album. Jurado could stop writing music forever and be more than content in his body of work. Either way, I’ll be quite happy.

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3. A Moon Shaped Pool by Radiohead
4. Blonde by Frank Ocean
5. Are You Serious by Andrew Bird
6. Lemonade by Beyoncé
7. Teens of Denial by Car Seat Headrest
8. Goodness by The Hotelier
9. The Mountain Will Fall by DJ Shadow
10. Junun by Shye Ben Tzur, Jonny Greenwood & The Rajasthan Express
11. The Hope Six Demolition Project by PJ Harvey
12. Amen & Goodbye by Yeasayer
13. Sea of Noise by St. Paul & The Broken Bones
14. You Want It Darker by Leonard Cohen
15. Painting Of A Panic Attack by Frightened Rabbit
16. Why Are You OK by Band Of Horses
17. Not To Disappear by Daughter
18. Sunlit Youth by Local Natives
19. I Had a Dream That You Were Mine by Hamilton Leithauser + Rostam
20. ★ by David Bowie
21. Farewell, Starlite! by Francis and the Lights
22. This Unruly Mess I’ve Made by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
23. LNZNDRF by LNZNDRF
24. Puberty 2 by Mitski
25. Light Upon the Lake by Whitney
26. A Corpse Wired for Sound by Merchandise
27. Away by Okkervil River
28. case/lang/veirs by case/lang/veirs
29. Love Letter for Fire by Sam Beam & Jesca Hoop
30. Barbara Barbara, We Face a Shining Future by Underworld
31. Preoccupations by Preoccupations

Here’s Colin Meloy, Jenny Conlee and Nate Query from the Decemberists, along with Ben Gibbard from Death Cab for Cutie, and Peter Buck from R.E.M. performing R.E.M.’s “You Are the Everything” at a fundraiser held in Portland this past Wednesday night. It’s safe to say I would have killed to have been at this event, had I known about it.

#5 on the 2012 Musical Bacon Calendar

Maraqopa by Damien Jurado

I wonder what it must be like to have been writing music and performing continuously for the better part of two decades, a period of time in which you release 11 albums and 18 or so singles and EPs, and then, upon releasing your twelfth record, have it declared the best album of your career. This is exactly where I place Damien Jurado and his jaw-droppingly amazing new album Maraqopa.

I wouldn’t be surprised if you haven’t heard of Jurado — he’s been making music in Seattle for 17 years, but his following over that time has not remained consistent, and he’s generally played venues smaller than the 1,100-person Showbox Market every time he’s played. Up until Maraqopa, I would have defined him as your typical indie folk singer/songwriter. Most if not all of his albums are quite enjoyable, but they’re fleeting. The music doesn’t hook you.

Maraqopa is different. Maraqopa intrigues right from the first note. It’s hard for me to put my finger on why this album is so much better than all his previous albums. It’s definitely more psychedelic, with off-kilter sounds, distant echoes and frayed edges. But there are also blended harmonies, intimate pauses, put together in this intricately layered tapestry of sound. Jurado’s voice remains as it always has, evoking thoughts of early Neil Young, but this time, along with the beautiful orchestration, there are hints of Nick Drake, as if he were haunting the recording studio when the album was being put to tape. Watch the video above, from a live session at KEXP back in February, with the Head and the Heart singing backup, and tell me this song doesn’t move you.

You can also watch a couple “official” videos from the album. There’s one for “Museum of Flight” and one for “Nothing Is The News.”

I first saw Jurado perform back in 2001, at Graceland (now El Corazon), when he opened for the on-the-cusp Death Cab For Cutie. It was a couple months before his I Break Chairs album, which he recorded with another Seattle staple, Dave Bazan, who at that time was still singing with Pedro the Lion. That show was great, and I used to love that album, but it’s fallen out of favor for me. I can tell you right now this new album won’t be falling. Ever.

(Incidentally, in trying to find more information about this show back in 2001, I discovered that while I was watching Jurado open for a band that was soon going to be the biggest export from Seattle since Nirvana, across town performing at the Showbox Market was none other than Elliott Smith. I love Jurado and Death Cab as much as the next guy, and this was a GREAT show, but I clearly chose the wrong show to be at that night, eh?)

I’ve seen Jurado numerous times since then, and each time has been great. He has an unassuming presence, like he’s someone you’d like to invite over for dinner, or belly up to the bar with to shoot the shit for an hour. This outward friendliness gives me a sense of happiness to see him finally getting some larger recognition for his body of work, playing larger venues, and reaching further audiences. Maybe this is the start of something bigger. I’ll anxiously await the unknown, listening to Maraqopa along the way.

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6. Shallow Bed by Dry The River
7. Valtari by Sigur Rós
8. The Heist by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis
9. Heaven by The Walkmen
10. State Hospital EP by Frightened Rabbit
11. A Thing Called Divine Fits by Divine Fits
12. Some Nights by fun.
13. Tramp by Sharon van Etten
14. Fear Fun by Father John Misty
15. Love This Giant by David Byrne and St. Vincent
16. To The Treetops! by Team Me
17. The Master: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by Jonny Greenwood
18. There’s No Leaving Now by The Tallest Man On Earth
19. Transcendental Youth by The Mountain Goats
20. A Church That Fits Our Needs by Lost In The Trees
21. Hospitality by Hospitality
22. Free Dimensional by Diamond Rings
23. History Speaks by Deep Sea Diver
24. A Different Ship by Here We Go Magic
25. Negotiations by the Helio Sequence
26. Moms by Menomena
27. The Sound of the Life of the Mind by Ben Folds Five
28. Shields by Grizzly Bear
29. Every Child A Daughter, Every Moon A Sun by The Wooden Sky
30. Fragrant World by Yeasayer
31. Reign of Terror by Sleigh Bells

What is the Bacon Calendar?

2011 Musical Bacon Calendar
2010 Musical Bacon Calendar
2009 Musical Bacon Calendar