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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Laurel Hell by Mitski

Mitski Miyawaki, who writes and performs under her first name, Mitski, quit music in 2019. Shortly after her critically-acclaimed fifth album Be The Cowboy entered the mainstream, at the final show of her tour supporting that album, she announced to the crowd that it would be her last show indefinitely, and she meant it. “I was thinking this was the last show I would perform ever, and then I would quit and find another life,” she told Rolling Stone when looking back at that time in the build up to the February 2022 release of her wonderful sixth album, Lauren Hell. Her triumphant return, in more ways than one.

Lauren Hell was not a return to form or an unexpected surprise to me — it was the catalyst to finally understanding Mitski and her music. Despite placing her fourth album, Puberty 2, at #24 in 2016, I’ve never really connected with Mitski before. Her fifth album, the one that got her so much popularity that she had to sever all ties from the music world “indefinitely” barely hit my radar in 2018. I think I probably listened to it only once, maybe twice, never to be heard again. Even in the build up to this year’s list, with Lauren Hell, — similar to Big Thief at #24 this year — I knew I should like it, and I tried a few times but it just didn’t click.

Then I compiled the 2022 list towards the end of the year, as I do every year. I took a stab at where things would likely land, and this album was somewhere in the upper 20s. But in the day or two before I was to write about it, like I do every album on the list, I played the album a few times back to back to back. This time, the light bulb turned on. This was not a bottom-of-the-list album, it was better than that. So I shuffled things around. I didn’t push it too far up – I’m not crazy enough to think it’s better than 17 other albums from 2022 – but where each album is placed is meaningful to me, and having this album fall in the middle of the list is saying something. This album is great.

The songs of Lauren Hell are predictable in the best way possible. They start off quieter, they swell to a crescendo in the middle, and then they fall slowly at the end. They’re approachable, and impeccably crafted indie pop. She carries the torch first lit by Kate Bush, carried forward by Tori Amos, and most recently hoisted up by St. Vincent (2009 #24, 2012 #15 with David Byrne,2017 #27).

Mitski conveys a little bit of “off-kilter” similar to those artists in her videos as well. Watch “Love Me More” above, as well as “Working for the Knife” and “Stay Soft,” and you’ll find a performer fully invested in themselves and without shame. She continually puts herself in strange and unusual positions that are fantastic to watch while listening to her beautiful constructions. I didn’t sit with them to try and sort out the deeper meaning, but I’m convinced it’s there. Let me know if you find it. I’ll be over here listening to the album and trying to sort out what’s taken me so long to get to where the rest of you have been all along.

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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

There are many ways to listen to the 2022 Bacon Top 31. Subscribe now and enjoy the new albums / songs as they are revealed on the countdown!

Full Album
All albums in their entirety.

Radio Station
A single song selection pulled from each album.

View all previous Bacon Top 31s

#12 on the 2022 Bacon Top 31 — Porridge Radio

#18 on the 2022 Bacon Top 31 — Mitski