As Porches, musician Aaron Maine has been carving out a space of his own. His music is like one big swimming pool, as refreshing and inviting as it is self-reflective. His songwriting is remarkably succinct, with tracks that come and go like ripples in the water. While they rarely reach a three-minute mark, they add up to a sum of syrupy indie rock that vividly captures mood in widescreen.
On April 4, Maine and his three-piece live band graced the stage of San Francisco’s The Independent, playing a steadily enjoyable set in support of his latest album to a more than enthusiastic crowd. Despite the smaller live arrangements, Porches managed to deliver its sound in full, resulting in a modestly thrilling and charming-as-hell hour of the band’s signature homespun vibe.
All Day Gentle Hold ! is the band’s most immediate work of music, a brisk and delightful listen that hits like some of life’s simple pleasures (in the world of Porches, that means sipping on ice-cold watermelon slushies and camel blues). A giddy energy surrounds the album’s strongest songs, with an allure that’s warm, transfixing and entirely addictive. Accordingly, Maine took the stage dressed in formalwear complete with a purple tie, the band setting up around him like a trio of schoolboys setting up in homeroom and teeming with excitement to play new material for their class to hear.
Right from the get-go, the hold that Porches had over the audience was far from gentle. The opening blast of guitar and drums of set opener “Okay” quickly jolted the crowd into motion, with joyous moshing erupting below the stage as Maine cheerfully howled the song’s glass half full chorus, “You might think I’m swimming in it/ But all I smell are the roses!” Album highlights “I Miss That,” “Swarovski” and “Back3School” rounded out the set’s strong opening stretch, as Maine delivered some of his stickiest lines with a seemingly infinite sense of glee (“I wanna be numb forever”).
Inside the confines of two-minute song lengths, the urgency of Maine’s performance was arresting. Each track was performed with the conviction of one hail mary after the other, burning bright and fast. While the band came hardly equipped with the necessary gear to recreate the live full-band sound for older hits such as “Braid” and “Mood,” Maine’s live renditions managed to feel more than faithful as he moved across the stage with only a mic in hand, swaying with the resolve of a one-man orchestra.
While Porches’ sound is undeniably compelling in a communal setting, it pulls listeners into a unique state of isolation. Though the music is electronic and synthetic, Maine’s lyrics are fixated on natural subjects; there are repeating lyrical motifs of water and reflections and lines permeated by feelings of loneliness and allusions to cowboys and life riding solo. It’s why moments like Maine’s unexpected, charismatic solo performance of Glen Campbell’s “Galveston” felt right at home between the autotune croon of “Rangerover” and “Car.” His vibe makes him a cowboy in the modern sense, making arresting music on his own wavelength — but decked out in Saint Laurent.
“I feel absolutely blessed to my gills,” Maine cried near the show’s end, sweat bleeding through his blue dress shirt. Throughout the night, he made no hesitation in letting the audience know that this has been the tour he’s most proud of, showing his appreciation in return by donning a fan’s hat, making hearts with hands reaching out toward the stage and performing an unreleased track in the encore.
The show ended on a striking note of melancholy as Maine dove into “Country,” a sparse vignette serving as the setlist’s emotional apex. “Watch the water drip/ from my mouth to yours,” Maine cooed along with the rising keys, reaching the sublime in the concert’s final moments. Glistening there, in sight of the audience, Porches transformed the night into something truly atmospheric. “Can you make it light?”
