5.Porches – Underwater
I’m technically cheating by including this one on the list of fresh new finds given that it was released on their album that dropped earlier this year, but it’s so mind-blowingly incredible that I couldn’t resist sharing with those who haven’t had the chance to hear it yet. Porches’s second EP ‘Pool’ starkly contrasted with the sound they created for themselves upon gaining public traction with their 2013 debut album, ‘Slow Dance in the Cosmos’. They went from experimenting with angsty shoe-gaze to flawlessly dabbling in the art of indie chillwave and in doing so defined what it means to be a phenomenal genre-bending artist. ‘Pool’ in itself is a phenomenally cohesive and poetic album that give us the slightest bit of insight into what goes on in Aaron Maine’s head, and the reward that comes from listening to it sequentially definitely outweighs its experimental risk. Everything about this song is perfect – the trippy synths, the smooth but still groovy bassline, Maine’s sensitive vocals, the enthralling percussion, the build up, and the climax. 10/10.
