- Bryon Harris
Jonny Porter - 'Look Out'
Review Written by Victoria Scott & Staf
Jonny Porter is a Canadian multi intrumentalist, and a Rock, Blues, Alt Country musician from Southern Ontario. Porter started his music career as the drummer in successful Raggae/ Rock band Staylefish where he went on to win multiple awards at the London Music Awards, performed on the Vans Warped Tour, and opened for such acts as Down With Webster, Subb, Stomp Records All Stars, The English Beat among many others. Following his departure from Staylefish, Porter recorded his debut 11 track album "Grave Bird" (Gypsy Soul Records, March 2017). During the support for that release Jonny shared the stage with Rik Emmett of Triumph, John Wozniak of Marcy's Playground, Todd Kerns of SLASH, Spenny (Kenny vs. Spenny), Five Alarm Funk, and Ko, performed at Canadian Music Week, and Burlington Sound of Music Festival. His debut went on to crack the top 500 new releases on the American Muzooka Charts, as well Chart in the Top 30 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Hamilton, Ontario on the Top 30 Earshot Charts for College Radio. Coming this September, Jonny will release his second project, a 6 song EP entitled "Look Out," and one listen to the title track will tell you to expect great things.
The introduction of an intense clicking, a clock-like sound, tells you that today your burdens are too much to handle and your time is running out in “Look Out,” a new alternative rock song by Jonny Porter. The triplet rim-click sits above a heavy bass drum and ominous tone. The backbeat on the guitar and the rhythm on the rim click keep the swampy groove in the pocket.
Chris Bryant comes in on slide guitar with a hot distorted sound that rises like heat as Jonny’s static grunge vocals take center stage. His vocal performance is highly memorable as he sings with the gritty soul of raw life experience. As the chorus repeats, the drumbeat picks up and plays a killer fill. The haunting ambient effects on the song enhances the emotional turmoil that is boiling under the surface. With a dominant groove and a catchy hook, "Look Out" comes straight for your senses.
There's a certain manic feel to this song, an intensity under the skin, that allows the listener to feel the doomsday experience behind the lyrics about a day that is, perhaps, rock bottom. The world's weight can sit on your shoulders as life starts to unravel. People put on a façade and pretend they're without pain, part of the denial, but it’s better to be real with yourself. For Jonny, it was his drug addiction that was the unbearable weight. In each verse, you can hear pain and struggle.
“Look Out, here comes the weight of the world
Look Up , you walk around like your shit don't stink,
but that last night you were stroking purple, licking pink,
Oh, my Heaven save me now.”
Jonny’s ability to write music from a vulnerable place takes self-awareness and guts. As an accomplished singer and multi-instrumentalist, and an excellent songwriter, Jonny has mastered an in-depth approach to his art. In "Look Out" Jonny gets raw and real. One can feel the complexity and intensity of his experience as he keeps listener's ears locked in on every lyric and beat of the song. Not only does Jonny portray his own demons, he musically crushes them and delivers an intense musical experience while doing so.
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