The Porter Draw

I have a confession to make: I've been taking a songwriting class. I didn't mention it before now because I didn't want to seem all prissy and overanalytical (I mean, more than usual.) For now I'm pretty terrible at it and I'll leave it to the pros, but one idea that we keep getting hit over the head with is the idea of detail -- that specificity actually makes a song stronger than leaving things open to the listener's imagination.

The Porter Draw is a great example of that principle. The first two songs, "Judgement Day" and "Softened Soil" are solid and certainly show off The Porter Draw's street cred. They are all over the map in terms of alt-country and they do each sub genre justice. But the rest of the songs on the album tell real stories: about farm life in the midst of urbanization and Monsanto, rust belt decay, murder ballads, playing rock shows, Bruce Springsteen covers...yannow, the usual. But The Porter Draw has an unsual ability to tell those stories. This verse from "This Town" pulls at my gut and I've never lived anywhere but in thriving cultural capitals:

There’s not much to do in this town,
Just a bar on the corner where we drink our sorrows down
There’s church here every Sunday and a few folks go to pray
But most of us think God has moved away.
If I was to be born again, and Jesus came on down,
He wouldn’t find anything in this town
There’s not much to do in this town

DAMN.

And there's seven other songs like it. - Adobe and Teardrops

Glad to be back at work here. The Holidays were a good break, and life seems to be moving along smoothly now. But, here’s the deal:

They’re called The Porter Draw….

I’m going to leave out the comparisons and the ‘if so and so had a lovechild it would sound like this’.
Look at their picture.. that’s exactly what they sound like!

I don’t mean to jump the gun, but, at the end of the year, I know this one will be on my Top 10 list.. Which is why I’m pleased to announce the first nominee for 2012’s LoveSound Album of the Year:

The Porter Draw, and their debut album, ‘California Widow’!

*NOMINEE FOR LOVESOUND ALBUM OF THE YEAR

LoveSound Rating – 9/10

Favorite Tracks – ‘Dirty Trade’ & ‘Davey’

The Porter Draw – theporterdraw.com - Love Sound

Beste Altcountryforumlezers, ik zit met een dilemma. Ik vind het namelijk een vreemde gewaarwording om het briljante nieuwe naamloze album van de Amerikaanse altcountryformatie The Porter Draw te bespreken als deze band,uitgezonderd van ons, Carl Everaerts website Driftercountry.com en het Amerikaanse Ninebullets.net van Bryan Childs, vijf jaar volkomen genegeerd wordt. Het zijn muziekwetten die voor mij niet te doorgronden zijn. Moet ik dan nogmaals uitwijden over vijf gedreven muzikanten (Ben Wood - banjo, RussellJames Pyle – gitaar,zang, Joshua Gingerich – gitaar, mondharmonica, mandoline, zang, Dandee Fleming – basgitaar en Joey Gonzales – drums), die zich al jaren onderscheiden door meerstemmige zang en lichtjes rammelende, stekelige altcountryklanken? Dat ze het podium hebben gedeeld met Reverend Horton Heat, Cross Canadian Ragweed en The New Riders Of The Purple Sage.

Dat deze met Bill Palmer opgenomen nieuwe plaat hun debuut (Trouble) uit 2009 en de opvolger California Widow (2011) overtreft met sterk eigen materiaal over onder meer het harde boeren leven, aangevuld met Springsteens I’m On Fire. Muziek die de luisteraar zal kietelen. Dat deze cd met grandioze plattelandsmuziek klinkt als een kruising tussen het beste van R.E.M., Old 97′s en Son Volt en misschien wel een mijlpaal uit hun bestaan is? Ik begin er niet meer aan. Ik heb al twee keer uit frustratie mijn hoofd, oksel en schaamharen uit mijn lichaam getrokken. Ik vraag de heren wel of ze een exemplaar naar Johan Derksen sturen. Die wordt terecht of onterecht op zijn woord geloofd. Luister en oordeel zelf maar via onderstaande link.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rA5IWJ_bAFE
www.theporterdraw.com
(Johan Schoenmakers) - Alt Country Forum

The Porter Draw combines bluegrass, old-time, country and punk to make an amalgamation of American roots music that is fresh and energetic. Starting with "Sorrow Coming Down The Line" The Porter Draw hits you with a fast, harmonic tune that sets the album up well. The Old-Time influence is evident in the following up track "Favorite Design" which features great harmonica playing by Josh Gingerich as well as tight harmonies in a catchy chorus that will stay in your head all day. Harmonies are present through out the rest of the album, especially lighting up the tracks "Jesus" and "Abalone". The majority of the tracks race at a punk pace, but there are some suberbly written slower, more measured songs. "Better Than Doing The Time" is a beautiful, West Texas song that would be very comfortable on a Steve Earle or Robert Earl Keen record. "River City Girl" is a melancholy ballad featuring beautiful guitar work and the vocals of Russell Pyle and Josh Gingerich. When The Porter Draw get loud, fast and punky the album is at its best. Songs such as "Locked In" and "Jail Cell" feature some vocals that harken back to the melodic hardcore of the East Coast in the 1990's. The energy of this album is a keystone, as is the catchy songwriting and hooks. You will find yourself singing a long every listen. - Digstation

Translated into english via google translate.

Original Link: http://www.rootstime.be/CD%20REVIEUW/2014/OKT1/CD113.html

PORTER THE DRAW - THE PORTER DRAW

Yes rag! I'm back on my leg and may discuss a CD of a band, which I wonder how he can escape in the previous two records fully to our attention. Shit happens, right? In any case, I have very happy that I can use at this catching up because, take it from me that already, The Porter Draw is a band to keep very much in the eye and ear. Prove that they are more than convincing on this third album, which I can not possibly say whether she is better than the last two, because I have not ever heard. And I have already quite regret, as this here, without the slightest exaggeration, a gem may be called.

The five gentlemen of The Porter Draw, a band from Albaquerque, NM, after mastering the art of songwriting and playing up to the smallest details: they make the finest melodies, they moreover provide very clever harmonies and perhaps even the most noticeable because they are so ingeniously arranged and structured. If you have all those ingredients together on one plate, then you are a reviewer pretty happy. As above shows that not one of the ten songs is inferior, then you can speak calmly of a very good record in this and what is even stronger: this is one of the best alt. Country that we could ever hear. This is the level of the best Jayhawks, Son Volt or Old 97's and thus you also had the points, jumping the most in the ear. Or no, do not, I dare not refer too much pretension to some REM songs. Says you anything? OK, then you should make the effort to equally urgent, through one of the included links on this review, go to Youtube or Soundcloud page of lords. I'm pretty sure you will, to the extent you are not averse to a mandolin or a banjo, if you do not immediately scream loud when you hear an acoustic guitar, in other words, if you like soft, melodious tunes where the wide of the American farmer outside flows, well, then you're ready for The Porter Draw.

Without a doubt the discovery -for me anyway- in recent months and I catch myself on there that I've turned this record often so that I can effortlessly connect the outro of one song with the intro of the next. Those songs except one, all written by the band itself. The cover is one of Springsteen's "I'm On Fire", although I think that previously was the cover version of Tom Russell model for this revival, the original of The Boss. But that is all but a shame, especially when you know that the original songs around it, totally out of place alongside Springsteen song.

You must, of course, do not believe me, but do yourself a gift of listening opener "Judgement Day", then continue with "County Lines", "I'm On Fire" and "Bitter Pill" and you're, like yours truly, hopelessly lost . Very good for the ears, this album, but bad for the wallet, because you will establish, like yours, also want to get the last two plates of this absolute top band in the house. Mine are already ordered and the financial loss we later measure.

(Dani Heyvaert) - Rootstime.be

Stepping out for a whiskey and smoke, I was startled on re-entry to see the place packed shoulder to shoulder for the Porter Draw. It took a few minutes to worm my way up front, stage left. Even in that corner, the sound was mixed well...

Have to admit lots of trepidation when Vince told me last month they added drums. That news broke my poor ol’ heart. Musically, tradition should be broken (thank you, punk rock) but I’m conservative as hell when it comes to bluegrass, a favorite since ninth grade. But I’ll be damned if Mojo pulled it off with finesse and a clean & simple kit of kick, tom and high hat...

Josh’s flatpicking knocks me black and blue. Anyone with any amount of proficiency can pull out a Strat or Telecaster and produce something reasonably good. Amplification does marvelous things for hiding mistakes, especially when distortion or fuzz is added. But acoustic flatpicking? There’s nothing to hide behind. Even banjo players can catch a break since most people have no idea what a truly good picker sounds like.

Josh’s picking is clean as hell and “clean” is the highest compliment any fan of bluegrass can give. Russell’s no slouch either on guitar & vocals while banjo Ben gives good twang. But the star of my show is the harmony vocals. Since most of the early greats of bluegrass have gone to meet their Lord and Maker, there’s not a whole lot of good singers left. Many youngsters can fret their way around a fiddle or mandolin reasonably well but the vocals have suffered tremendously. Not so with the Porter Draw. Its top-notch.

I never could dance to bluegrass since (a) I suck and (b) I’m way too busy watching the players’ fingers but the wall-to-wall crowd was hopped up like they were swilling Romilar and Red Bull. Drums make it easier for the average person to get into twangy music so no more complaints from me. Unless Vince ever trades in for an electric bass in which case I’ll have to kill him.

As always the crowd pleaser was Somebody Killed Jesus, just in time for pre-Easter festivities. Besides their signature punk covers, the Porter Draw write alot of their material but make it sound age-old. Few bands can pull that off without sounding like bland imitation. To paraphrase lyrics from Jesus, How the hell do they do it? Seemingly with ease.
- The Wig Wam Bam

This week, ALbuquerque's The Porter Draw celebrates its first recording. "Trouble" sometimes races, is sometimes slow and measured, is always at least a little forlorn. The album is a cross-country journey marked by excellent playing, refined harmonies and run-ins with the law... - Albuquerque Alibi

I have a confession to make: I've been taking a songwriting class. I didn't mention it before now because I didn't want to seem all prissy and overanalytical (I mean, more than usual.) For now I'm pretty terrible at it and I'll leave it to the pros, but one idea that we keep getting hit over the head with is the idea of detail -- that specificity actually makes a song stronger than leaving things open to the listener's imagination.

The Porter Draw is a great example of that principle. The first two songs, "Judgement Day" and "Softened Soil" are solid and certainly show off The Porter Draw's street cred. They are all over the map in terms of alt-country and they do each sub genre justice. But the rest of the songs on the album tell real stories: about farm life in the midst of urbanization and Monsanto, rust belt decay, murder ballads, playing rock shows, Bruce Springsteen covers...yannow, the usual. But The Porter Draw has an unsual ability to tell those stories. This verse from "This Town" pulls at my gut and I've never lived anywhere but in thriving cultural capitals:

There’s not much to do in this town,
Just a bar on the corner where we drink our sorrows down
There’s church here every Sunday and a few folks go to pray
But most of us think God has moved away.
If I was to be born again, and Jesus came on down,
He wouldn’t find anything in this town
There’s not much to do in this town

DAMN.

And there's seven other songs like it. - Adobe and Teardrops