The House
Porches’ third record The House is a conscious effort in minimalism and honesty. "Making Pool”—the band’s 2016 breakthrough record, and Domino debut—“I learned how valuable the spirit of the demos are,” says singer Aaron Maine, “so this time I made a point of capturing a song the day it was conceived.” Because of this desire to document immediate sensations, the record’s fourteen tracks offer a series of diaristic vignettes. There are moments of emerging from fear of ego death (“Leave the House,” “By My Side,” “Now The Water”), escaping the corporeal (“Now The Water,” “Swimmer”), the terrifying thrill of young love (“Country,” “W Longing”), and parting with the past (“Wobble,” “Goodbye”).While these themes possibly paint The House in a dark light, the record is marked by an excitement at the prospect of self-discovery, and commitment to the process of getting there. Though Aaron largely composes on his own, The House features contributions by Alexander Giannascoli ((Sandy) Alex G), Dev Hynes (Blood Orange), Maya Laner (True Blue, Porches), Kaya Wilkins (Okay Kaya), Bryndon Cook (Starchild & the New Romantic), Cameron Wisch (Cende, Porches), Jason Arce, Bea1991, and his own father, Peter Maine. As with Pool, Aaron brought his recorded work to Chris Coady (Beach House, Slowdive, TV on the Radio), who then mixed The House at his Sunset Sound studio.
The New York-based songwriter Aaron Maine stays in the lane of writing delicate, evocative songs with homespun beats, but he never quite locks into the kind of groove that made his last record Pool so satisfying.
First Aid Kit delivers more ’70s folk-rock mastery with Ruins, while Porches sputters out on The House and Belle & Sebastian go deeper and darker on the second How To Solve Our Human Problems EP. These, plus Tune-Yards, Shopping, and more in this week’s notable releases.
On his third album, 'The House', Aaron Maine hones the synth-backed introspection of 2016's 'Pool' into something new
The House is a morose and unpredictable assortment of songwriting, one that, if caught at the right moment, can be pretty convincing.
The House feels like a transitional work, one saddled with stylistic experiments and themes of rebirth, renewal, self-discovery and so on.
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The House is an album of rare balance and beauty, managing to evoke hefty emotions and ideas, while still feeling slight and ephemeral.
On Porches' third full-length album, The House, Aaron Maine digs deeper into the warm glow that made 2016's Pool a thoughtfully danceable re...
Of the four elements, not one of earth, air, or fire can quite compete with water when it comes to pure symbolic potency. Perhaps nobody knows this better
The last half-a-decade has seen Porches undergo a significant refurbishment from the intimate slacker rock of 2013’s ‘Slow Dance’.
Review of Porches' 'The House': Porches blends genres beautifully on 'The House' but doesn't always find the right balance.
Despite having graduated from dirge-like indie to downbeat but danceable synthpop over the course of their first two albums, Porches (otherwise known as singular New Yorker Aaron Maine) don’t change tack again on their third.