Screen Door Porch

This month-long “traveling concert circus” wound down this month after treating juke-joint crowds in Colorado, Montana, Idaho and Wyoming to a buoyant mix of bluegrass, rock, folk, and old-timey music. Joining Mr. Crossland, who hails from the town of Ten Sleep and drove solo, were J Shogren Shanghai’d, a trio from Centennial, and Screen Door Porch, a quartet from Jackson.

The tour was brainstormed and organized by Seadar Rose, who shares singer-songwriter duties with her husband, Aaron Davis, in Screen Door Porch. (Their alt-country band also includes the bass player Tom Davidson and the drummer Andy Peterson.) Aiming to present a showcase of Wyoming roots music both inside and beyond the least populous state’s borders, she wrangled commitments from club owners, started a promotional Web site, designed posters, solicited sponsorships from merchants (suggested donation: cash or beer) and recruited advance people at each stop to spread word of the caravan’s impending arrival.

“We all like each other and each other’s music,” said Ms. Rose, 31, “and always thought it would be cool to tour together. So rather than wait for some promoter to step in, we said, ‘Let’s just bootstrap the thing, do it ourselves.’ After all, that’s how we do everything else in Wyoming.” - New York Times

“On ‘Modern Settler,’ Screen Door Porch has transformed roots music into something much larger…a down home goodtime vibe…sonic hypnosis has set in and Screen Door Porch seem like the only place to live” (Bently’s Bandstand Best Releases, March 2015) - Bently’s Bandstand Best Releases

It's a treat to the ears and soothing to the soul. Jackson Hole based Americana band Screen Door Porch delightfully combined the softer acoustics of Western America with the force of their Southern country vibe into a magnetic, energy-fuelled dialogue between lead vocals Aaron Davies and Seadar Rose.

Through a series of contemporary variations on the themes most rooted in American music, Davies' deep, ever so slightly husky tone marries Rose's sultry bluesy nonchalance in colourful conversation. Sometimes they'll oscillate between one and the other, but often they'll let the ongoing back-and-forth turn into heartwarming harmony, revealing the true power of the fronting duet.

Their eponymous debut EP already received great critical acclaim, and their latest full-length sonic treat “The Fate & The Fruit”, released in May, is as we speak working its way up the US Roots-Rock charts as the whole band begins a summer tour of their state of Wyoming, with over twenty dates and a slight detour via Montana early in August. Sample the album on the website join them at Music In The Hole festival on the 4th of July to celebrate Independence in the finest of American tradition! - Tracy Mamoun - The Deli National

I like it when the band’s name conveys exactly what you’ll hear after hitting the play button. Previous examples include Slayer, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, and Daughtry. When we received an email with Screen Door Porch in the title, I was immediately drawn in and their music lived up to the billing. Consisting of a mix of tunes by Seadar Rose and Aaron Davis, the Screen Door Porch sound is perfect for sitting on a tattered porch swing accompanied by some sweet tea. Or sipping whiskey.

The album bounces back and forth between alternating male and female lead vocalists. Rose has a couple of gems in “Wrong The Right” and “Cold Mountain Breath.” Her songs tend to be a little more introspective while Davis’ tunes give the album a proper kick in the pants. “Jivin” and “From Sea” will have you tappin’ your foot on the floor boards of that dilapidated porch. The last tune, “Morning Sun,” shows the duo trading vocals in a great closing.

Screen Door Porch is just currently on the road. If you’re a fan of easy-going Americana, then check out the album and the band on tour. - Hear Ya, Chicago, IL

Todd Snider once advocated a life where you could “pack everything you own in 15 minutes and move on” as a way to collect the stories needed to be a good singer-songwriter. That philosophy has certainly given Todd plenty of good material. The duo of Seadar Rose and Aaron Davis, in their persona as Screen Door Porch, seem to have acquired a similar portfolio, but more in an instrumental vein. Rose and Davis, hailing from North Carolina and Kentucky respectively, have divided much of their time between Jackson Hole and Austin. The songs on Screen Door Porch reflect a spirit of Americana that couldn’t have come through as powerfully without having been immersed in the differences of those locales.

The album starts off with Wrong the Right, showcasing a lo-fi sound that’s a hallmark of the whole record. Seadar has some of that raw Erika Wennerstrom sound in her vocals, but combines it with an upbeat garage rock guitar resulting in one of those songs that really sticks with you. Firewater has a similar style, but with hand claps to build a good percussive background. Although using an acoustic guitar, From Sea also has a great percussion section and is a little more alt country.

As I mentioned earlier, there’s a lot going on in Screen Door Porch. There are a couple of themes that emerge, in addition to the lo-fi sound. One is a jazzy, Cajun, swing style that remind me of the Red Stick Ramblers. The best of the batch is Zemurray, that lays down the rhythmic gait of a hustler that surely means trouble. Similarly, Two More Than You covers that back room card game where you look around for the mark and realize it’s you. Blow Away and Cold Mountain Breath also have the jazzy thing going on, but at their core are more country blues arrangements. My favorite song on the album, though, is in a genre of it’s own. Ramblin’ Around is like a Marshall Tucker Band song written by Charlie Daniels. If you’re a fan of 70’s southern rock, listen to this one and tell me that’s not the case.

Although sometimes I whine about a record that skips around too much and never finds it’s center, Screen Door Porch avoids a lack of consistency even in the face of its wide range of styles. Like putting on your favorite old lucky hat on the way out the door for a night on the town, just plunk the figurative needle down anywhere on this disc and there’s a good time to be had. - Twangville

The voices and characters of Seadar Rose and Aaron Davis compliment each other perfectly on an album which is accurately described as a mix of "groove injected Alt-Country and soulful Americana."

Although the duo's debut album was recorded in Austin, Texas, Rose grew up listening to traditional folk music in North Carolina. Her voice has an authentic country drawl which is tailor made for the wistful mood that embraces half of this record. Her musical partner, Davis is from Kentucky and he cites among his influences the classic songs of The Band and Dylan. His voice has a smoother, more laid back quality not unlike Vetiver's Andy Cabic.

The song writing credits for the dozen songs here are evenly divided and reflect their respective personalities through track sequencing where the mood switches between the contemplative to the cheery.

Rose's songs are the more meditative and melancholy ones. This can be heard on the evocation of lonesome highways of Cold Mountain Breath and particularly on the fatalistic Blow Away where she sings of hopes, dreams and memories destined to fade to dust ("All that remains are the ashes that blow away").

In contrast, Davis' foot tapping/ hand clapping drinking tune Firewater warms the spirits ("let the sauce intoxicate ") while his light-hearted road song Ramblin' Around takes the load off after Blow Away.

These changes of mood are not always so well judged. The two minute blast of jelly roll ragtime boogie of Jivin' which kicks in abruptly after the lovelorn track Gold immediately kills the atmosphere of pain and regret brilliantly captured by Rose on lines like "I loved without meaning, I left without reason."

There are no such quibbles over the choice of closing tune, however. Morning Sun is the one song where the lyric credits are shared and is illustrative of the spirit of a record which Davis says "was born of moving around and growing musically closer."

The alternating vocals together with lines like "I'll sing your song and you'll sing mine" ensures this warm hearted album ends on an appropriately harmonious note. - WhisperinandHollerin.com

There are do-it-yourselfers, and then there is Screen Door Porch.

In the music world, this duo has done more than decide to release its own records; it has made a conscious decision to bypass the music machine and have control over all parts of the process, including songwriting, song selection, publicity and tour management.

At the core of Screen Door Porch are Seadar Rose and Aaron Davis, but depending on the day, they could be playing with a quintet, or even a full band, including a cello.

They describe themselves (no matter the band configuration) as groove-injected alt-folk and soulful Americana, with a sound that is not quite acoustic.

And although that description might sound a little complicated, it seems very simple for a lot of their fans. This duo plays good, honest music.

"I really was a late bloomer as far as playing instruments," says Davis, who plays acoustic and electric guitar, mandolin, banjo, harmonica and foot percussion. "I started playing at 19, influenced by all the folk music (such as Bob Dylan) I suddenly realized I had missed out on pre-18."

As for Rose, she was influenced by two very different sets of grandparents during her childhood in Greensboro, N.C.

On one side, she was exposed to classic country such as Johnny Cash and Loretta Lynn. On the other side, she had a grandfather who was a champion shag dancer.

"I have a lot of that music in my head," she explains.

And what results is a magnetic, eclectic collaboration. Rose and Davis, who have been musical partners for more than three years, have just recently gotten engaged.

They have spent the last few months in Austin, Texas, first playing the prestigious South by Southwest music festival, then recording their debut album "Wrong the Right."

On the album, they split the songwriting and the vocals pretty evenly, although they did co-write two tracks, something they look to do more of in the future.

For now, their immediate plans include a summer full of tour dates to promote the album, where the two pack all of their instruments, bring along their yellow lab, Harper, and hit the road.

They will cover close to 6,000 miles in five weeks, most of those logged in the South, where they find their strongest fan base.

"The South is definitely our focus, but we have even sent out CDs internationally. We've really embraced the indie side of things and everything a label would do, we are trying to do ourselves." - Stephanie Burt, Charleston Scene

The saying goes that the family who plays together stays together. If true, the duo of Seadar Rose and Aaron Davis are off to a good start. Screen Door Porch's self-titled debut album is all chemistry - sometimes subtle and mellow, as in "Morning Sun" sometimes folksy and fun like in "Ramblin' Around," sometimes a bit quirky and weird, as in the Crescent City-inspired "Zemurray;" and sometimes all groove like in "Wrong the Right." The duo is, by Davis's lyrical confession, "two peas in a pod without the pod."

Or is it that SDP is our latest incarnation of alt-folk country Western Americana? They've got songs about el Caminos, gambling, New Orleans and the banana trade wrapping their arms around tunes about the peace and solitude of being alone in the mountains and about the glow and light of love in the morning sun.

Screen Door Porch showcases some of Austin's finest talent as well: Britton Beisenherz: (Monahans) Rhodes play on "Cold Mountain Breath," Roberto Sanchez: drumming in "From Sea," Katy Rose Cox of Shotgun Party: haunting fiddling in "Zemurray," and Steve Bernal's intonate whirring cello in "Blow Away;" stand out and only bolster Davis's spirit-soaked guitar, harmonica, banjo, dobro, and mandolin playing.

Although recorded in 4 1/2 days at Ramble Creek Studio in Austin, Texas, the music in this album is born from the days and weeks and months on the road Rose and Davis have spent together, the years in Jackson Hole before that, and maybe even back farther - in Rose's North Carolina Appalachian folk music background, or in Davis's deep Kentucky roots. Screen Door Porch is a product of geography, of all these sounds and people and places amalgamating together - from Western swing to Southern twang, and from a 10-bar blues about moonshine to a 12-string solo about getting robbed by hitchhikers and drinking absinthe.

Screen Door Porch is about movement - across time and landscapes and between strangers and friends. It's about reconciling with the past by finding peace in the present - an idea nowhere more evident that in Rose's deep lyrical ode "Blow Away." She moans, "The house I built is gone/What little I knew of a happy home/Covered in scars deep to the bones/And oh how they, they blow away."

And when you close your eyes and the music is long since turned off, what remains is Rose's voice and the vision her and Davis created to match it: their ability to go deep into the well and pull up a fresh sound with every breath, every note. Rose's voice, paired with Davis's multi-instrumental chops and the support of Austin's finest makes Screen Door Porch the band and Screen Door Porch the album what it is: something new and fresh that can't or shouldn't be compared with anyone or anything else. Davis, no Ryan Adams. Rose, no Gillian Welch. And that's a good thing. Together, they are something more special, more unique - a sum greater than one plus one equaling one, her singing his songs, him singing hers. - 605 Magazine

The amalgam of geographic roots represented by Seadar Rose and Aaron Davis sonically manifest throughout Screen Door Porch's Ramble Creek-recorded eponymous debut. The local duo's former haunt of Jackson Hole, Wyo., lends an easy Western flair to their more prominent native influences of North Carolina and Kentucky, a combination that goes down as smoothly as top-shelf bourbon. Rose's voice triangulates the soulful grit of Lucinda Williams, the easy twang of Gillian Welch, and the acoustic indie intensity of new songstresses like Sera Cahoone, melding well with Davis' understated drawl on opener 'Wrong the Right' and dark balladry of 'Cold Mountain Breath.' Davis' lead on 'From Sea' could have been mined straight from locals Frank Smith's Big Strike in Silver City. The Tin Pan jazz lope of 'Zemurray' and 'Two More Than You' and swingin' 'Jivin' balance the beautifully mournful 'Blow Away' and 'Gold,' a diversity that will situate the twosome well among Austin's like-minded alt-folkers. - Austin Chronicle

Seadar Rose and Aaron Davis, a partnership made in heaven, or at least Austin, Texas which any Texan will tell you are one and the same! Both Rose and Davis have worked with various people on other unrelated projects, but it is this diversity that gives the album much of its appeal. It covers everything from alt.folk to blues and alt.country, with even a slight jazziness on a couple of tracks and that's without even mentioning vaudeville! Virtually all of the melodies are easy on the ear and stick in the memory but without ever descending into easy listening. This is avoided by the fact that many of the songs are tales of life and its at times, harsh realities, particularly in the case of Rose's mournfully eerie 'Blow Away.' Of course, not all of these beautifully written stories are so serious. Davis' 'Ramblin' Around' has plenty of humour as evidenced by lines such as:'… I looked at her bum and I looked at my shoe. And realised her bum is prettier than my shoe.' (I think this is probably a 'bum' as interpreted in England rather than America!) Not deeply meaningful but just another example of this album's melange of styles and ideas!

Seadar Rose's vocals have the almost languid drawl of Lucinda Williams, but with more range and expression evidenced by her own beautiful 'Cold Mountain Breath', whilst Aaron Davis can at times sound like a Whiskeytown-era Ryan Adams with his ability to play around with his emotions and tone. Their harmonizing and support on each other's songs is responsible for the various styles working so well together and enabling their differing songwriting directions to give the album an almost thematic feel. This album is a really good example of the instrumentation being used to highlight rather than overpower the songs, with the playing of guitars, fiddles and steel guitar being of the highest quality, but never overpowering. It would probably not have held together so well if the songs had been buried by the density of too many instruments. A good example of less being more! The production has great depth and openness giving even the sparse acoustic songs an almost epic nature. All of the songs are strong but probably the most unusual is the almost 'vaudevillian polka of 'Zemurray,' whilst Rose's 'Gold' is beautifully sensuous and their co-written 'Morning Sun' seems to be almost comforting in the way it meanders pleasantly along! All in all a highly diverse and listenable album that possibly shouldn't work but most definitely does! - Maverick Magazine

Local roots music powerhouse, Screen Door Porch (SDP), plays classic Americana with deep-seated tendencies toward delta blues and a newfound love of all things funky. The band, which includes core members Seadar Rose and Aaron Davis with help from bassist Tom Davidson and drummer/vocalist Andy Peterson, released its second full-length studio recording, The Fate & The Fruit, May 1. Fresh, funk-fried folk licks combined with a full set of percussion, bass and bluesy vocals characterize the bigger, bolder sound of this new album.

SDP has been touring across the country over the last month, playing venues big and small from Portland to Nashville. They will conclude this tour with a homecoming CD release party at the Pink Garter, with help from Jackson’s newest indie phenomenon, Elk Attack.

Heavily adorned with keys and kazoogle, The Fate & The Fruit signifies a southern migration for SDP. The muddy waters hinted at on Screen Door Porch grow to adolescence on this new album. “The fate and the fruit describes everything on this album.” Rose said. “In the life that we lead, there have been a lot of obstacles we had to overcome. That is where many of the songs common themes of risk, adventure and reward come from – from this kind of life, the life of a musician.”

Recorded at Ramble Creek Studio in Austin, The Fate & The Fruit incorporates elements of traditional folk music deeply present on SDP’s self titled freshman LP while paying homage to a spattering of other genres. Blues and funk are the most persistent sonic invaders, thought they are often accompanied by indie and classic rock, as well as soul and gospel.

A strong advocate for original music in the Jackson community, Davis has played countless gigs at nearly every venue in the valley and strives to help promote new bands, particularly those like Elk Attack, who write a majority of their own music.

Few people know the true voracity and terror of an insurgent elk attack. Guitarist and scholar, Dusty Nichols-Schmolze has been battling elk physiologically, musically and in person since he first honed his chops as a young buck in the JH Face Melting Project. I caught up with Nichols on the lawn outside Dornan’s where he was sharpening the neck of his Gibson Melody Maker, preparing for battle. “We started as a folk rock band,” Nichols told me. “With our upcoming album, we bring more of the rock show performance sound, without compromising composition and vocal harmony – but with energy, lots of energy and raw power.”

Elk Attack’s vigor will prep the stage for SDP to woo the crowd with Davis’ reverberating guitar and Rose’s sumptuous vocals. “We are trying to put a lot of cool stuff into this show,” said Rose. “Because we love this town, and we love our fans here. We want to make this a really special event. It’s not just another Screen Door Porch show.” Show up early and get yourself a prize; the first 25 through the door get a free copy of The Fate & The Fruit.

Screen Door Porch w/ Elk Attack at 9 p.m. Friday, at the Pink Garter Theatre, $12 advance / $15 at the door. pinkgartertheatre.com. - Jackson Hole Weekly

"Roots Rock” seems to be the tag this Wyoming based band attracts, but from the first notes of The Fate & The Fruit I feel we’re in alt-country/country noir territory and the kind of sounds that seemed to emerge around the turn of the century. A dark rhythmic pulse has a sparse banjo line riding over it with a slightly menacing air. When Seadar Rose’s vocals come in the dark notes in her voice suggest she’s just made acquaintance with the devil (it is a song about politics), and memories of late-90s vintage Walkabouts came to my mind. As the album progresses you become impressed by this band’s ability to find a new voice for each song, and for it to work every time, whether it’s the languid drawl of Easy Chair or the infectious hillbilly funk (I hope that’ll make sense when you hear the song) of Wrinkled Neck Mule.

The core members of the band are Seadar Rose and Aaron Davis; they write the songs, play pretty much anything with strings on and share the vocals between them. They harmonise really nicely and each, individually, is capable of many different vocal moods, which gives them a wide range of possibilities. This vocal range is matched by the things they do instrumentally; sometimes they’re very mellow, as on Easy Chair (acoustic guitar here) or Westminster, with its rather blues-y electric guitar. At other times they go for something big and expansive or choppily aggressive. OnBurnin at Both Ends, one of the stand-out tracks, you get several of these things in the same song as the pace keeps changing. There’s humour in there, too: these guys really do cover all the bases.

They’re currently touring as a four piece with drums and bass backing them up, but these songs deserve big arrangements to match the ambition in the writing. On record they have Jeff Bryant’s keyboards to expand the sound but given how much they achieve with a small band (Davis sounds like he’s playing two guitar parts simultaneously onBurnin at Both Ends), you feel they could be truly stunning with an extra guitar and some keyboards on stage with them. This is one of those records that reveals itself slowly; there’s so much going on that you can’t possibly take it all in at first hearing. The song I’m in love with at the moment is Needle and a Record; Davis takes the lead vocal on this gently poignant song, and he blows a wondrously lonesome harmonica to boot. It puts me in mind of Mike Ferio’s GoodLuck Mountain, one of my favourite albums from last year – music put together with real feeling and purpose. Screen Door Porch’s debut album from 2010 garnered a lot of praise and The Fate & The Fruit is sure to keep the ball rolling for them. - Flyin Shoes

It’s been a big year for Screen Door Porch. The Jackson-based quartet's second album, “The Fate and The Fruit,” was named the second best record of 2012 by Wyoming Public Media listeners. The album was number 16 on the Roots Music Report Folk Chart and the group’s recent tour of the Mountain West with fellow Wyomingites Jalan Crossland and J Shogren Shanghai’d will be subject of an upcoming New York Times feature.

But with success also comes new dilemmas. For instance, how to describe their music to an ever growing audience? Is it folk, maybe in the vein of the hollow sounding track “Firewater”? Perhaps it is closer to bluegrass with violin and mandolin infused songs like “Zemurray?” Maybe they’re just a plain ol' rock band?

“That’s the great part of the music we play, and the bad part,” said the multitalented Aaron Davis, who sings and plays guitar, banjo, mandolin, harmonica and suitcase kick drum for the group. “Some people think we’re folksy, but basically we’re a rock band now.”

Davis’s comments hint at the band’s evolution. Screen Door Porch started out in 2008 as a duo. It grew to a six-piece before settling on its current lineup of bassist Tom Davidson, drummer Andy Peterson and Seadar Rose, who sings and plays acoustic guitar. Davis and Rose have been the constant throughout the band’s transformations.

Both are southerners and their music reflects that background, such is the blend of blues, rock and folk they play. Screen Door Porch employs traditional bluegrass instruments like mandolin and banjo, but they play them like children who grew up listening to everyone from Memphis Minnie to Radiohead, which they were.

Southern as they may be, the group members have embraced their adoptive state. They launched the WYOmericana Caravan tour earlier this year, which saw them traverse Colorado, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming with Crossland and Shanghai’d.

In many states, musical talent will congregate around population centers. Think Austin, Texas. Wyoming lacks major population centers and the talent is, like everything, spread about the state’s large expanse. The tour’s goal was to showcase the talent in the Cowboy State.

“It’s the coolest tour we’ve ever been a part of,” Rose said. They enjoyed the comradery of the other musicians but also the chance to collaborate and experiment with them, she said. Those collaborations often took place as impromptu jam sessions on stage.

“It’s sometimes better when you don’t know the song and you just wing it and go with your instincts,” Davis said.

The group has toured heavily since the release of “The Fate and The Fruit” last May, and it will be on the road for much of the summer. It has 18 shows planned for the upcoming months, 12 of which are in Wyoming. The traveling can be a grind. So too can the business aspects of the music industry. But neither Davis nor Rose is complaining.

“It’s a thrilling experience,” Rose said. The band has enjoyed bringing its music to new audiences, she said.

“It’s all worth it,” Davis said. “Otherwise we’d have to go look for a day job.” - Casper Star Tribune

“The beauty and power of their surroundings do not pick favorites when used as tone and textures on the album. Acoustic grace (“Easy Chair”, “Needle and A Record”) and electric overdrive (“Shift Work”, “Burnin’ At Both Ends”) pass a musical baton across the surface of ‘The Fate & The Fruit’. Screen Door Porch let their music swing wide open, hit the wall and glide gently back into place with Roots Pop precision.” - The Alternate Root

8 out of 10 Stars

They made it. With all the swapping around of projects and cries of let's work together flying around these days, especially in a place like Austin where Screen Door Porch flew to embrace showtime like all the other moths to the flame, they are back with their second full album.

They certainly enjoyed more than a modicum of success with their self titled release in 2010 and won even more friends and plaudits, ourselves among them. But what of the The Fate and The Fruit? Could these two insightful, complementary sages continue their growth two years on and capture that atmospheric journey of self that would project them to the majestic peaks of Americana nobility?

Devils Honey is a curious choice of opener, simmering along as it does without giving much away. If you're not familiar with the dynamic of Seadar Rose and Aaron Davis then you might find yourself underwhelmed with the pipe and slippers air that surrounds the song. But you'd be deceived, once they start warming up their sound becomes more and more vibrant. They swap lead vocals to suit the song and songwriter, a sort of Lennon/McCartney arrangement and get it right every time: Heartfelt yes, earthy certainly, but never languid. Needle and a Record is also misleading, full of hidden messages and father and son dialogue to get your teeth into, although it has an almost lullaby dimension. Things move up a gear as Burnin' At Both Ends and Shift Work show both our heroes at their most gritty, Rose in particular sounding like she means business. Cruise control takes over and the country/folk roots of Polka Dot Dress and Lovin Strange portray both Rose/Davis's vocal chemistry and songwriting ability at their most sublime.

There can be no doubt as to the development made in the two years life experience since we last crossed paths. When Davis sings a story like Easy Chair then people stop talking. With no frills or pretensions he assumes the air of a Townes Van Zant and proceeds to enthrall his audience with tales of a hobo quoting Hunter S Thompson in Texas. Wrinkled Neck Mule and Mountains Are Heroes draw heavily on bluegrass and hillbilly while the his and her aspect constantly provides a quality which, though measured out in equal measure takes you to many different and welcome places. There's a lot of creative prose around focusing on the irrepressible affectations of Austin, Texas and Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The reality is that Seadar Rose and Aaron Davies go together like bacon and eggs, they're meant for each other. Not that The Fate and The Fruit doesn't bleed the stars and stripes. This is the sound of America, untamed and infinite and these guys sound like they've been doing it for years. Lets hope they keep doing it for a long time to come. - Americana UK

A pair of musicians who have been a staple of Jackson Hole’s local live music scene have just released their debut album, and the result is an eclectic batch of songs that should please fans of traditional Americana, while also pleasing those who enjoy the more contemporary sounds of folk revival.

Aaron Davis and Seadar Rose, who make up the duo Screen Door Porch, decamped last fall for the milder temperatures and artistically nurturing climate of Austin. There’s just enough guest work on the self-titled debut to enhance Screen Door Porch’s strong suits – namely Rose’s voice, Davis’ composition and the songwriting abilities of both.

At times, Screen Door Porch are even reminiscent of recent hit makers Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. The point is that this duo, which cut its teeth in Jackson Hole’s relatively conservative scene, is ready to take flight in new directions.

They’ll celebrate with the hometown crowd during an album release party at Dornan’s in June.
- Planet Jackson Hole Weekly

Screen Door Porch sounds, at times, like a summer day on a rickety deck after several mint juleps: relaxed, but the inhibitions are starting to unravel. Other times, like when the pedal steel chimes in on "Light Through the Pines" a few tracks later, you're transported to a campfire party in the Appalachians. And, in "Zemurray," you could be at a gypsy vaudeville show drinking whiskey and smoking cigars under dim red lamps. In other words, the album is quite a journey.

Screen Door Porch is an alt-country duo from Jackson Hole, Wyo., comprised of Seadar Rose and Aaron Davis, who both sing and play guitar, among other instruments. Rose has sweet-and-smoky vocals reminiscent of Catherine Irwin from Freakwater. Together with Davis, who sports mellow countrified pipes à la Mark Knopfler, they're a mighty force.

Davis shines on "Ramblin' Around," a highway tune with the adventurous chorus: "Head straight for the beach, drink absinthe by the sea, reminisce the ramblin' days of you and me." The jazzy, ragtime tunes like "Jivin'" seem borrowed and contrived, but there are few moments when the duo doesn't hit the bull's eye. Take Rose's ballads, like "Gold" and "Blow Away," which are so moving they'll send shivers down the spine. - Missoula Independent

Screen Door Porch are Austin Texas Duo Seadar Rose and Aaron Davis, who have roped in the help of percussion, peddle steel, fiddles and even a choir to flesh out these soulful country vignettes that they share vocals on. Although each manages to brand their own personality to their respective tunes.

Having released a number of albums separately as part of other projects, Rose and Davis seem to have forged a complimentary partnership on this self titled debut.
Opener ‘Wrong the Right’ is a magnificently effortless groove, augmented by some restrained violin ambiance, shuffling drums and a simple electric guitar figure. Rose’s regretful country lilt is elevated by some fabulously sleazy blues slide guitar that sounds like it could have been cribbed from a ‘Sticky Fingers’ out-take.

Rose’s songs are far more folk inflected; acoustic and blatantly rootsy in hue (‘Cold Mountain Breath’, ‘Firewater’ ‘Blow Away’ et al.). The musically/emotionally stripped bare ‘Gold’ is her finest moment though. Rose up close as if she’s softly whispering in your ear over some elegiac controlled acoustic and electric picking. “I loved without meaning, I left without reason” she muses with a convincing ache.

Aaron Davis’ contributions however are a touch more adventurous and thus far more fascinating and further reaching. His Ryan Adams-esque vocal and easy technique with a melody provide the albums most intriguing moments. ‘From Sea’ where Rose and Davis’ vocals combine to fabulous effect, alluding to The Cardinals jamming with Mazzy Star is among the albums highpoints. Elsewhere the junkyard polka of ‘Zemurray’ features some wonderfully wonky violin and could easily be the result of Whiskeytown messing around with Tom Waits’ sonic toy box.

‘Screen Door Porch’ is an album of soulful honest music, managing to be equally true to its core americana roots as it is to being forward looking and mildly adventurous. - Americana UK