S&S Presents

Porridge Radio

Blondshell
Friday, September 16 2022
7:00 PM MDT
741 South Kilby Court (330 West)
Salt Lake City UT, 84101
Promo Code

This show has no covid requirements. Please email nic@sartainandsaunders.com with any questions.


Porridge Radio are one of the most vital new voices in alternative music, having gone from being darlings of the DIY underground to one of the UK’s most thrilling bands in the space of less than a year. Their barbed wit, lacerating intensity and potent blend of art-rock, indie-pop and post-punk sounds like little else around, and led their 2020 album Every Bad to make the nominees list for the coveted Mercury Music Prize.

For frontperson Dana Margolin, drummer Sam Yardley, keyboardist Georgie Stott and bassist Maddie Ryall – who met in the seaside town of Brighton and formed Porridge Radio in 2014 – global recognition has been a long time coming, after years of self-releasing and music booking their own tours. In those eight years, Dana has gained a reputation as one of the most magnetic band leaders around with an ability to “devastate you with an emotional hurricane, then blindside you with a moment of bittersweet humour” (NME). 

But if Every Bad established Dana’s lemon-sharp, heart-on-sleeve honesty, Porridge Radio’s third album takes that to anthemic new heights. Waterslide, Diving Board, Ladder To The Sky is the sound of someone in their late twenties facing down the disappointment of love, and life, and figuring out how to exist in the world, without claiming any answers. It’s also catchy as hell.

The title – which was partly inspired by a collage by the British surrealist Eileen Agar – speaks to the “joy, fear and endlessness” of the past few years. Dana’s songwriting and delivery is more confident, with the emotional incisiveness of artists like Mitski, Sharon Van Etten and Big Thief. Though it’s softer and more playful in places than Every Bad’s blowtorch ferocity, there are moments of powerful catharsis, ones that occur when you allow the full intensity of an experience to take hold.

In places, that no-holds-barred rawness is on a par with bands like Deftones (their panoramic metal is a key touchstone of Waterslide, Diving Board, Ladder To The Sky) or American emo, elevated by Yardley’s ambitious instrumentals. “I kept saying that I wanted everything to be 'stadium-epic' - like Coldplay,” says Dana.
 
With Waterslide, Diving Board, Ladder To The Sky, Porridge Radio have distilled their myriad influences down like they’re flipping through their own singular dial: dreamy yet intense, gentle but razor-edged, widescreen and yet totally intimate. People tell Dana that Every Bad got them through their cancer diagnosis, their break-up, their isolated lockdown. But with their new album, the band are taking a step up and spring-boarding into a bright, exciting unknown.
  • All valid tickets are sold via 24tix.com at the official ticketing link or 24tix Fan Marketplace. Any tickets resold through a third party platform such as StubHub, SeatGeek, Vivid Seats, and others are subject to being void without a refund.
  • No weapons of any kind.
  • No outside food or beverages.
  • No alcohol. Kilby Court is a dry, all ages venue.
  • No drugs or illicit substances.
  • No smoking inside the venue.
  • No unauthorized/unlicensed vending, soliciting, handbills, sampling, or giveaways.
  • No flash photography. Non-professional, point & shoot cameras are allowed (attached lenses must be smaller than 2 inches) unless otherwise stated. Professional cameras must be approved by venue and artist management before the show.
  • No moshing, crowd-surfing, or stage diving.
  • No pets allowed.
  • No backpacks or large bags. Small purses and fanny packs allowed but subject to search.
  • Security reserves the right to search bags, perform pat-down checks, and refuse/revoke entry at their discretion. These reasons include intoxication, disturbing hygiene, engaging in hate speech, belligerent or noncompliant behavior, acts or threats of violence, disturbing other guests, etc.