ALBUM REVIEW: Jamie Porter Band – Sonic Smile

JPB - November 17th 2017

If you like your Rock to sport the sheen of Blues and Country then this might be worth a listen.

Opener ‘A Girl Like You’ is kinda subdued and laid back but with a thick stuttering groove that immediately gets you in the mood as the vocals wail, guitars strum and under it all the keys swell and fill out the sound. It’s a nice start and it truth this is a nice little gem of an album if those classic rock sounds of the 7o’s, steeped in blues and with a gentle Americana-infusion is your thing.

Personal favourite ‘Can’t Stop Loving You’ that follows is ballsier, louder and sports sweeter melodies amidst the rock solid riff that drives it and it’s that mix of styles that makes this album so successful.

As you dig deeper you fall upon gems like the similarly rocking ‘Lay it on Me’ and the big ballad ‘Sound of the Summer’ which is far more ‘Starship’ than most of the rest here, and it might not be to everyone’s taste but it does the job.

Sonically you’re looking at a British take on Bryan Adams here, Porter himself has been around long enough to know that he’s not going to jump to stardom with an album like this, but as a debut it’s a great listen,more diverse than you might think and adequately produced.  He should be proud.