11.

Porcelain

Porcelain

Next up is this extremely impressive debut by post-hardcore newcomers Porcelain. It’s a textured, ‘grown-up’ album full of musical invention and challenging themes. Some of the stalwarts of the genre have clearly provided inspiration for the record. One can make comparisons to early Fugazi (especially on the heavier tracks like ‘Vanity’). And there are even more parallels to the work of fellow Austin, TX natives …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead. But Porcelain also differentiate themselves by expanding on those influences. There are, for example, a number of comparatively ethereal segments that are closer to post-rock than post-hardcore. Whereas, moving in a completely different direction, ‘Plastic’ reminds me of a Mutoid Man track and the structure of ‘Invoices’ has a little bit of Tool about it (i.e., here and there the record skirts metal). The quality is a little inconsistent on the second half of the album, but that can certainly be forgiven. This is a debut from a young band. Plus, if …AYWKUBTTOD is your role model, it’s almost required – one of the most inconsistent rock acts of the last 30 years… In any event, even with a few slightly weaker tracks, this placing on the cusp of the top 10 is fully justified. At the same time, Porcelain feels like an opening gambit rather than a definitive statement: there’s room to grow, and I’m excited to see where Porcelain go from here.