Shirt, the new album from Aaron Maine aka Porches, is part angsty fantasy, part confessional
melodrama – a rock album that oscillates between reality and make-believe to reflect both the
innocence of suburban youth and the frayed reality of adulthood. A fusion of chaotic impulses,
insatiable desires, and a perpetual yearning, Shirt plays with the tension between one’s person and
persona – the weight of your dreams crashing up against your reality. The result is something both
familiar and uncanny, an anthemic tribute to this intrinsic duality built on crashing and caressing sounds.
A concise record that thrusts listeners into a fevered state, Shirt’s hormonal rock songs collide with
emotional ballads to create a dynamic tension that propels the listener ahead. The album speaks in
broad, relatable terms while maintaining an intimate connection with its creator, blurring the line
between universality and personal revelation. Shirt is as much about the climaxes as it is about the
banality between life’s most memorable moments, celebrating not just the first kiss but also the anxiety
intertwined with it.
Shirt is instantly recognizable as Porches’ heaviest album to date. Grungy guitars that shine with a
menacing glint, drums and bass that punch you warmly in the stomach, interspersed with moments of
eerie calmness to create a physical sense of tension and release that resonates with each track.
