Clouds In The Sky They Will Always Be There For Me by Porridge Radio

Porridge Radio, the indie rock trio out of Brighton, England, made a pretty big splash on the 2022 Top 31 with their third album, Waterslide, Diving Board, Ladder to the Sky showing up at #12. And now they’re back, two years later, with an even better album here at #11: Clouds In The Sky They Will Always Be There For Me, their 4th LP in their 10-year history.

There are some great singles on Waterslide, but Clouds holds together as a single idea, executed well. After touring extensively throughout 2022 in support of the last album, Dana Margolin, the band’s dynamic, deep voiced lead singer and principal songwriter, returned home and shortly thereafter split up with her partner. It is from the ashes of that exhausting tour and subsequent breakup that Clouds sprang. When describing the band to new listeners, I more often than not say “they’re the second coming of Modest Mouse, with a female lead.” But really that’s only because the person I most want to compare her to is Spencer Krug (as seen back at #14), but it’s impossible to compare one unknown tortured singer/songwriter to another without causing confusion. Margolin is a powerful voice, singing about universally felt emotions, creating songs like no other female-led band in the 20’s.

I’m excited to see Porridge Radio for the second time, in just a couple weeks from now. The last time I saw them was in 2022 during the band’s torrid stretch of worldwide touring. Margolin had recently shaved her head bald, and the show was a blast, but it wrecked the band members by the end of the tour. Looking at the current videos, it appears that she’s got shoulder length hair now, and looking a bit more stable. Check out the video above for “A Hole in the Ground,” or for the lead single from the album, for the song “Sick of the Blues,” and you’ll get a good glimpse of their stage presence. I suppose looks can be deceiving, as the band announced on January 15 that they’ll be splitting up after this tour. No reasons given.

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I hope the rationale for closing up the Porridge Radio shop is something innocuous. But since no reason was given, my gut says it’s something more, something dire. You don’t step away from your still up-and-coming band without a lot of introspection and difficulty. I’m glad they’re not so bad they have to cancel the tour. I do wish them well. And, like Spencer Krug being the heart of Sunset Rubdown, Margolin is the heart of Porridge Radio – the songs and the sound they evoke are hers, so I suspect (and very much hope) we’ll be hearing more from her in another capacity soon.