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Chris Porro: Lampreys and Gigolos
[self-released]

For those who dont know, a lamprey is a parasitic invertebrate that slowly eats away at the fish that it attaches to.  The fact that Chris Porro chose this unlikeliest of mascots to name his debut album after becomes apparent, if only in a very abstract way, after a few listens to Lampreys and Gigolos.  Porros album is all about parasites, whether it is the people he hangs around with, his pose as a dolorous gigolo in several of the songs, or the musical approach he takes in general.

It is not so much the parasitism of his music that bothers me, but rather the disintegrated form that it takes in most of the songs on this record.  The first song, creatively titled The First Song, sounds like David Bowie singing a twisted rendition of Blue Velvetnot as bad as it sounds.  However, after that, the album devolves into random song bits peppered with seemingly pointless weird sound effects.  Now dont get me wrong, Im all for novel compositional techniques; the problem is that Porro seems to have mistaken novelty as in freshness, for novelty as in the sense of a pet rock.  It seems weird for the sake of weirdness at times, and there is really no excuse for any type of lazy songwriting.  Which is not to say that Porro is a lazy songwriter; he seems to have a genuine talent for songwriting, which is what makes this album so annoying at times.  It always seems that there is more he could have done with these songs.

That aside, there are some really good songs on this album, and minus the sound effects and the field sounds (unfortunately all too common on this record), Lampreys and Gigolos would be highly laudable.  Pop Star is sparse and right on the money, and Real Gold is surprisingly beautiful with a hint of sincerity, which is a welcome break from the chesire cat smile of the rest of the album.  Ultimately, the whole second side of this record is very solid and shows a lot of promise for the future of Chris Porro.  So, if listened to on shuffle with the courage to skip tracks, Lampreys and Gigolos will present some real gems of lo-fi, anglophilic, indie rock. 

This album can be purchased at CD Baby

Chris Porro Official Website

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