10 Near Perfect Rock Albums Of The 2020s
2. Every Bad - Porridge Radio (2020)
2020 was the year when even those who hadn't wrestled with mental health before, felt the crushing reality of it. If the physical lockdowns weren't enough, the mental cage of swirling emotions only compounded the difficulties. The shared trauma from months of scant human contact and isolated boredom was only fully realised once we began emerging from our dens.
If there's one thing this album does well, it's that it faces down the ugly beast of poor mental health. With a defiant honesty, lead singer Dana Margolin stares her demons in the face, and hangs them out to dry, on this record. Nephew, is a dreary number set to a mournful blending of emo grunge and indie rock. It's a raw expression of becoming disinterested in life as one is consumed by depression. Something, is a track that uses auto-tune to devastating effect as Margolin confesses to no longer feeling anything at all. Homecoming follows a similar new wave style, with synth melodies and electronic drums. Wavey guitar riffs cut like a scythe through Margolin's lyrics about emptiness and despair.
This is a devastating look into the abyss of the troubled mind, but it's beautifully moving.