Indie Rock Hit Parade Live Session: Porridge Radio

Joining us in the studio for this live session is an artist who’s making her debut performance on American radio airwaves. Dana Margolin is the lead singer and songwriter for Porridge Radio, a Brighton-based group that formed in 2015. Over the course of the last year, Porridge Radio have put out several exciting singles that culminate with this week’s release of Every Bad, the band’s second full-length.

While on a short press tour in the last days of January, Dana stopped by to perform a solo set of songs from her band’s new album. Hearing these renditions as compared to the full-band versions on Every Bad makes the ongoing process of songcraft even more striking. Dana’s deeply personal (and often disarmingly wry) lyrics shine through when accompanied by only an electric guitar, and her dynamic voice fills the room in one moment and is hushed the next.

Our session with Dana includes “Sweet” and “Lilac,” two songs that were met with great acclaim in the lead-up to this week’s album release. “Lilac,” in particular, showcases Dana’s love for including a mantra-like coda at the end of her compositions. That’s taken to its extreme in her performance of Every Bad‘s opening song, “Born Confused.” The repetitions of “thank you for making me happy,” spiked with the occasional “thank you for leaving me” are heart-wrenching, liberating, and visceral, all at once and around again.

Listen to Dana Margolin of Porridge Radio’s Indie Rock Hit Parade session below, and watch her performances of “Sweet” and “Lilac” via NPR Live Sessions.

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