Porij are back with their latest slice of wonky Pop in Baby Face. The Manchester band have largely slipped past (more my fault than theirs) but I became very aware of their sound after hearing ‘Ego’ and wished to rectify things immediately. Listening to the single felt like a force of nature, with all sorts of twists and turns meandering through the ears to melt my mind away. It has quickly become one of my favourite singles of the year, and made me very excited to check out this new EP.
Since their inception, the band have embraced a revolving world of genres and harnessed the peaks of various scenes to form their sound. Everything is taken at a “song-by-song” process, with certain directions requiring different tools to others. This allows Baby Face to flow wonderfully through a myriad of genres and enables it to somehow sound familiar and completely alien at the same time. Breakout single ‘Nobody Scared’ kicks things off with a dreamy set of synths and a gorgeous guitar line to create this immediate connection with the listener. While it has the ears gripped, the vocals from band member Eggy calls out violence against women as it references the Reclaim the Night movement.
“I don’t think you should ever be shy about discussing big topics,” Eggy states. “We’re artists. Why would you make art that doesn’t mean anything?”
‘Divine’ throws you into its world of self-acceptance as its group vocals warm the heart with their uplifting vibe. Paired with the House-like qualities of the percussion and Jamiroquai-esque guitars, it is sure to brighten your day. ‘Can’t Stop’ goes further with these elements as it delivers more off-kilter beats to treat us once more with the endless bounds of Porij’s creativity.
Baby Face is an absolute blast and definitely one of the best EPs of the year. There’s very little out there that can contend with the quality and creativity on display here. Porij have got themselves a new fan here.