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Every Bad
by
Every Bad Image
Metascore
86

Universal acclaim - based on 15 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.1

Universal acclaim- based on 32 Ratings

  • Summary: The second full-length release for the British indie rock band led by Dana Margolin is its first on the Secretly Canadian label.
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Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 15
  3. Negative: 0 out of 15
  1. New Musical Express (NME)
    Mar 11, 2020
    100
    Porridge Radio nail some of music’s hardest tricks – breathing fresh life into indie and making a record that can loosely be compared to other bands in fragments, but also feels entirely their own. ‘Every Bad’ is a breathtaking step up from their bedroom-recorded 2016 debut, ‘Rice, Pasta And Other Fillers.’
  2. Clash Music
    Mar 26, 2020
    90
    Porridge Radio have not only written the album of their careers but possibly of the year too. Their new project ‘Every Bad’ is full of the catchy songs that are overflowing with lo-fi ramshackle post-punk guitars and uplifting vocals.
  3. PopMatters
    Aug 3, 2020
    90
    Every Bad is fragile and robust, confidently flawed, and above all evidence that Porridge Radio is in their ascendancy. They are a real force to be reckoned with and a band with a strong chance of winning this year's Mercury Prize.
  4. Pitchfork
    Mar 13, 2020
    84
    Using words and noise to create mantras and blow them up, Every Bad is the inspired result of a rock band finding itself in 2020, inhabiting many ways of being.
  5. Uncut
    Mar 26, 2020
    80
    Upgraded in every sense: songs with deeper meanings, mountainous crescendos and choruses to communitise large crowds. [May 2020, p.32]
    All this publication's reviews
  6. The Quietus
    Mar 26, 2020
    80
    It’d be easy to assume the reason Every Bad sounds so vital is because its raw, agitated songs are the perfect soundtrack for these blighted times, built to be played while the world’s never-ending dumpster fire burns hotter and hotter. But it’s also got a slicker, more muscular sound than 2016’s home-recorded Rice, Pasta And Other Fillers.
  7. Q Magazine
    Mar 11, 2020
    60
    There's almost too much bubbling up in their heads. [May 2020, p.109]
    All this publication's reviews

See all 15 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 7
  3. Negative: 0 out of 7
  1. detunedSilence
    May 4, 2020
    10
    Porridge radio's Every Bad missed me at first. Upon second try I had to admit it's a very decent addition to the genre, but that was about it.Porridge radio's Every Bad missed me at first. Upon second try I had to admit it's a very decent addition to the genre, but that was about it. However, during one late evening I stumbled upon Sweet video. I've seriously not seen something so wild, emotive, destructive and impressive in ages. All at once, all in couple of minutes. Ever since that moment I knew I had to return and listen to Every Bad properly. Coming from there I honestly believe this is one of the most important albums of this year. No way around it. So sincere, intense, full of existential revelations and filled with grabbing sound scape. All that steadily growing and growing and then.. then it's just there. So, seriously happy I had a chance to find my way to this rather rough jewel. Also, I am charming and I am sweet. ;)… Expand
  2. sunflowxr
    Jan 16, 2021
    10
    son el sonido que buscaba. Maravilloso y casi no encuentro eso en muchos artistas.
  4. archismanm
    Mar 15, 2020
    8
    'Every Bad' surprised me. When the first track began playing, I was immediately turned off by the sound. 'That indie sound' is something many'Every Bad' surprised me. When the first track began playing, I was immediately turned off by the sound. 'That indie sound' is something many of us find hard to enjoy nowadays. But I decided to listen on, and as the album unfolded I could see a narrative building and the sound changing: I was hooked till the end. Four listens later, I genuinely love the album. It experiments enough while not trying to break some invisible genre barrier. Lyrically it's powerful and Dana's vocal delivery is a wonder. Also the drumming is incredible. It's not a perfect album by any means, but one I'll be revisiting often this year.
    ______

    || The Sea as a Motif ||

    I really want to get to a seaside someday soon, put on headphones, and listen to this in its entirety. The 'sea' is a major motif throughout: in 'Nephews', the sea is a source of comfort, a place which can swallow you up and take away your consciousness and hence your pain. In 'Pop Song', Dana pleads the sea to make her feel safe as the waves roll in. In 'Circling', to quote Dana, she 'tried to follow the feeling of the flow of waves [pointing to the repeated lines], and how they keep coming in endlessly, washing everything away without judgment, and then bringing it back again."
    And like the sea waves, lines repeat themselves to the point where they sometimes feel like another instrument blending in with the others.
    ______

    || On the Lyrics and Narrative: Is it a concept album? ||

    (Disclaimer: personal interpretations)
    It almost feels like a concept album to me even though it's probably not. Through the album we see a change in the protagonist of the songs. Till 'Nephews', the Girl in the songs presents herself as bitter and sarcastic in her depression. She has prepared herself and even expects the worst possible things to happen to her; a nervous, self-deprecating, suicidal wreck (Sweet). Somedays, she wakes up feeling completely disoriented with the world and in her body (Don't Ask Me Twice). She pushes everyone away and feels like she's wasting her life (Long).

    From 'Nephews' onwards we see her more vulnerable and hopeful. But her hope comes from the sea where 'the water's so dark that you can't feel your heart as it sinks'. She wishes the sea to swallow her and wash away her pain. The sea feels more like home than her home itself; hence she's never going back (Pop Song) to the home that makes her feel bitter and ugly inside.

    From 'Give/Take' onwards, the girl enters a more self-reflective and hopeful phase, where she faces guilt and longing (Give/Take), and wants to be better and kinder to her lover and people around her, despite depression making her almost incapable of being that way (Lilac). She stands by the sea again and tells herself she is okay repeatedly while the sea holds her hand (Circling). 'The Homecoming Song' ends the album in a very open way pointing to the cyclical nature of depression. It feels like she's back to being the self she was at the beginning of the album. The sea takes away but also gives back, and that applies to her pain too.
    ______

    || Highlights ||

    - The album begins brilliantly with the line "I'm bored to death, let's argue" preparing us for the wit and tone of the album though I'm not very fond of this track overall.
    - 'Don't Ask Me Twice' has a great moment. The drumming and the mix on the verse which begins "Oh, I woke up and I was scared / So I made my way down the stairs" is kickass. Compliments the emotions of what she's saying perfectly. I could actually visualise her waking up and rushing down the stairs with the pace of the drumbeat.
    -'Long' is a beautiful track, one of the more melodious alt-rocky tracks on the album. The album definitely needed a track like this. One of my favourites.
    -'Pop Song' is a mellower track. Dana's screaming delivery seems to go great with these gentle alternative rock rhythms. 'It's not what you sing, but how you sing it' goes the saying, and Dana has her delivery on point throughout the album.
    - 'Lilac' is my favourite track off the album. The music video also has a bit to do with that. The song starts off with Dana singing in a very Kurt Vile way. The backing vocals in this track add so much. "I'm stuck I'm stuck I'm stuck" lines envelope the listener while the song moves forward. It's these brilliantly thought out ideas that make this album so great composition-wise.
    -Every track from Lilac onwards is a 10, which ends the album in an incredibly strong way. '(Something)' uses autotune which comes as a surprise within the album, but it works! Another great track.
    ______

    Overall I rate the second half of the album a 9.5 while the first would be a 6.5. Certain tracks, while they work well within the album, aren't ones I would go back to a lot. Born Confused, Sweet, Don't Ask Me Twice and Give/Take are the tracks that I like the LEAST right now, but I don't count out the possibility of them growing on me more. Time is a weird thing.

    7.5/10
    (rounded to 8)    … Expand
  5. Lajaleaa
    May 5, 2020
    8
    ( 83/100 )

    Porridge Radio es un proyecto dirigido por Dana Margolin, que comenzó en el 2015. En su segundo álbum después de 4 años, la    ( 83/100 )

    Porridge Radio es un proyecto dirigido por Dana Margolin, que comenzó en el 2015. En su segundo álbum después de 4 años, la banda se muestra muy solida con el concepto de su propio genero y logra funcionar varias intenciones, escalar de una emoción a otra y darle una narrativa triste, fuerte y rasguñada a través las letras en su musica. La forma en la que la banda modula la intensidad y controla los gritos arrancados me sorprende, pues es muy adecuada. Dana Margolin canta sin miedo al volumen, al llanto o a la rabia. Margolin canta sin miedo al éxito.
    -
    Porridge Radio is a project directed by Dana Margolin that started in 2015. In their second #album after 4 years, the band shows to be very solid with the concept of their own genre and achieves to merge several intentions, escalate from one emotion to another and give a sad, strong, and scratched narrative through the lyrics to the music. How the band modulates the intensity and controls the ripped screams is shocking because it's very accurate. Dana Margolin sings fearless to volume, wailing, or rage. Margolin sings fearless to success.    … Expand
  6. All_ButTrU4
    Dec 21, 2021
    7
    Porridge radio has it all figured out even when they feel its going to **** ''Every bad'' is vital because its good ol' back to basic indiePorridge radio has it all figured out even when they feel its going to **** ''Every bad'' is vital because its good ol' back to basic indie rock that sounds as urgent and raw as its themes. the opening frustration of ''born confused'' is an antagonistic diatribe against well life, when the crazed outro comes in you're as exhausted and strained as the leads vocals. A common angst snowballs from song to song leaving fascinating wreckage in it's path,such as the decptivley titled ''sweet'' which is more of a uncompromising look at a depressed mess,(My mum says that I look like a nervous wreck/Because I bite my nails right down to the flesh. And sometimes, I am just a child, writing letters to myself/Wishing out loud you were dead, and then taking it back) might just be one of the most stunning lyrical moments in 2020 invoking Lorde's ''liability '' melancholy . Even at its least impressive moments ''Every Bad'' takes fascinating liberties such as the clunky' 'don't ask me twice'' which channels a Cate Le Bon sound. The stunning centerpiece ''lilac'' seems o be talking to itself, convincing itself of why to be hopeful to ambiguous results… Expand
  7. Ricko
    Jun 11, 2020
    7
    Every Bad marks itself out as different in 2020. I'm not sure if this would be the case had it been released in 2005 or 2010 though. The bandEvery Bad marks itself out as different in 2020. I'm not sure if this would be the case had it been released in 2005 or 2010 though. The band Warpaint come to mind somewhat as well as Pete Doherty's slower tempo'd stuff. There are good ideas that are well put together here but not sure if there is a whole lot more that that going on. The first 3 songs along with "Lilac" and "Circling" towards the final third of the album are really good and are standouts. The other half of the album is decent intelligent indie rock. You could do an awful lot worse.… Expand
  8. a_sebastian
    Mar 13, 2020
    4
    The music by itself is great. Good ideas and all, but the lyrics the voice it's like a misunderstanding. Oh wait somebody's waving the indieThe music by itself is great. Good ideas and all, but the lyrics the voice it's like a misunderstanding. Oh wait somebody's waving the indie flag. False alert it's just a half wit proud of itself. Blasting teeth in the sun.… Expand

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