Every Day Is Better Than the Next

The intrinsic difficulties of making a no-frills rock & roll album are plentiful. With massive major-label budgets and underground movements hyping the "next big thing" it becomes trying, at best, for a simple rock & roll album to find an accessible audience, and near-impossible at worst. Void of pretense or overly sheen digital production, Every Day Is Better Than the Next is a no-frills rock & roll affair that equally summons the ghosts of AM radio and early college rock as it recognizes the group's modern-day muses. Also thrown into the mix is a slight tinge of vintage (yet timeless) Southern rock. But it's not as if Porchsleeper go from song to song merely emulating their influences. In fact; they do quite the opposite. Taking bits and pieces from each of these outlets, they develop a sound that's uniquely present unto itself, with earnest, concrete lyrics free of ambiguity and catchy melodies that (if not careful) could be stuck in your head for long periods of time. The wishful thinking of "Bulletproof"'s lyrics and its upbeat tempo set the stage perfectly for the rousing good-time antics found in the suite of tunes dedicated to a rocker's third favorite pastime (rock music and women being the first two): drinking heavily. By the time the excessive intake of alcohol sets in, the sombering slow tones of "If I Told You" brings out the philosophical drunk that is universally inherent in all of us, coasting through many a pleasant pop number before closing the album with "Black to Gray." This musing on middle age and the changing of popular culture over the years is a fine anthem suitable for last call at any musky local dive bar. It's simple rock & roll created on its own terms that's as honest as possible, and a band can't receive much higher praise than that. And while Porchsleeper haven't exactly created a groundbreaking, genre-defying, pop-culture-movement-shifting debut album, they sure sound like they're having fun trying their best. And in the end, isn't that what counts the most?