Porij - Babyface EP Review
Since day one, Porij have proved that they're not a band that plays by the rules typical to the industry. Their music is the best reflection of that rebellious spirit. It’s as if Hot Chip and alt-J went on a hard-smashing rave and, sleep-deprived, have decided to produce some bangers in the early morning hours.
“The start of the band was the most haphazard thing,” says vocalist Eggy. “I feel like that’s the literal essence of Porij. We do everything last minute – but it’s so beautiful, and amazing. The pressure we were put under resulted in something pretty cool.” Porij, inspired by oatmeal and pronounced just like it, were a band formed in havoc after their mates were in need of a support. These four Manchester-based madmen agreed to fill the spot with no preparation, no songs but full of passion to smash out something special.
Since day one, Porij have proved that they're not a band that plays by the rules typical to the industry. Their music is the best reflection of that rebellious spirit. It’s as if Hot Chip and alt-J went on a hard-smashing rave and, sleep-deprived, have decided to produce some bangers in the early morning hours. After releasing a few singles, full of wonky art-pop bars that you can actually dance to, Porij have finally got around to recording a debut EP, ‘Babyface’ on their own Oat Gang Records label.
The thing about Porij is that even though, they might do club-friendly, boogie-inducing bangers, they would sometimes trick you into thinking about important matters while you’re indulging in a gig-based hedonism. EP’s opening track ‘Nobody Scared’ was inspired by Reclaim the Night marches in 1977 and the fear that every woman still faces while walking home alone. The track is a feel-good and pound proclamation that we won’t stay afraid. If the change won’t come, we will make it happen and won’t back down, as the lyrics go ‘We're going home/Tonight/We're all alone/Tonight’. Straight to the point.
‘Ego’ stays on the glossy pop line but moves into the relationship drama terrain. It’s an electro post-breakup dialogue between two parties who are moving on at different tempos. Porij gave voice to both of them, making the track a combination of two opposite forces clashing together to the ever-bouncing beats. Though there’s no point in crying over spilt milk. Wipe the tears and throw their things out. The time to slay has come. It’s ‘Divine’ o’clock after all. The track is a little self-love booster and tongue-in-cheek instruction on how to get the confidence back. Have a twirl. Have a drink. Bitch, we’re all fab and if someone says otherwise, they’re clearly wrong. Still most importantly, Porij took the right direction when deciding to go synth-heavy on UKG-influenced, ‘Can’t Stop’. It encapsulates this overthinking frenzy when you’re so stuck in your head and beginning to question your surroundings and sanity. The track goes wild, looping strange sounds and contrasting neat parts with totally manic sections. It’s the kind of feverish trip we don’t mind going on. Over and over again.
‘Babyface’ comes a full circle in the closing track, ‘Heaven Knows’, giving out last punches to too eager listeners. They’ve made a fool of us, convincing us we can slay solo. The freedom didn’t last long as there’s another object of affection on the last turn as they sing ‘There’s a thousand other guys I could be fucking with but I want you'. Though there’s not much theatrics to it. Even if we get hurt again so what? We can dance it all away to their pretty darn good debut EP.
“Porij is so DIY,” says Eggy in the statement, “but that’s kind of amazing because we don’t have to rely on anyone. Like with our visuals, our art, our music videos. We do all of it!”. We can’t wait to see who will ‘Babyface’ become when it’s all grown up. Right now, Porij is still in a bit of a crawling phase but we’ve got a feeling that when they learn how to run, they’ll go really far.