ENDLESS /BOUNDLESS/Black Vinyl

Description

Life is what happens between the rise and fall of the curtain. And when you are in the middle of your performance, it can be difficult to defocus, categorize, and interpret the details buried in the perpetual rubble of the past, present, and future. On January 26, Chayse Porter will release his third studio album, Endless / Boundless via Earth Libraries, nine new musical excavations and epiphanies that the Birmingham-based songwriter has unearthed from the rocky substrate of life and polished until they shine in his basement lair. How to describe Porter's solo work... Playful pop? Cotton candy spun with barbed wire? Soft rock à la Burt Bacharach, inspired by the Beatles, left to freeze in the warped confines of a funhouse mirror? Whatever label you prefer, Endless / Boundless is a fresher and more straightforward record than the psychedelic diggings of Chay's Palace, his second album released in 2022. Lyrically, Endless ruminates on unrequited love, toxic American exceptionalism, and, in one of the album's lighter moments, the unexpected kindness of strangers. There is jubilant dream pop (the stunning opening track "Bleeding Hearts"), shoegaze with threats of violence ("Lead Pipe Cinch"), and a cinematic instrumental centerpiece best appreciated with eyes closed ("Copter"). With the album on the way and a live band assembled and ready to go, Porter has left listeners a trail of breadcrumbs in anticipation.