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Credit: Courtesy<\/p>\nCredit: Courtesy<\/p>\n
Almost more than any other genre, being a punk band is a declaration, a commitment. But the very thing that makes it respectable is the same thing that can make it a straitjacket. Orlando\u2019s Porch Coffin, however, have chosen not to be bound by it.<\/p>\n
Porch Coffin are a punk band. Their first two EPs \u2014 2022\u2019s Porch Coffin and 2023\u2019s Oblivion \u2014 were solidly punk rock, the kind that could easily rock any crowd at Fest. But on their new Dogs Bite EP, they\u2019re proving that they\u2019re more than that.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Porch Coffin\u2019s music has always had the kind of melodicism that lends itself to a wide horizon. But Dogs Bite is their most reaching release yet, and it\u2019s a gambit that yields some very noteworthy results. While there\u2019s plenty of sonic substance here, the band exchange punk charge for emotional heft.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Like indie rock made by punks, these new songs run deeper with heavier rock currents into emotive post-hardcore waters. In fact, their palette\u2019s now open enough to tap good 1990s alt-rock veins. The title track could\u2019ve been Elastica had they grown up in Seattle, and \u201cPocketknife\u201d sounds like a lost grunge-era hit. Meanwhile, \u201cFamily Portrait\u201d and the excellent \u201cJody Lee\u201d are painted in long strokes of mood, melody and muscle.<\/p>\n
But all this talk of genre minutiae is secondary. The cardinal point is that this is a good record. It\u2019s proof positive of a band that cares more about songs than stripes. Even without any of their previous punk jolt, Dogs Bite is Porch Coffin\u2019s most poignant batch of songs to date. It shows that not only can they transcend punk, but they actually shine more when working between the tribal lines.<\/p>\n
Dogs Bite now streams everywhere and is also available on CD via Bandcamp. You can catch Porch Coffin in concert in the new year with Bad Luck, Northbound and Camp Trash (7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 3, Will\u2019s Pub, willspub.org, $20-$25).<\/p>\n
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