Four haunting melodies of love and despair. Chilling and dreary, like a lone walk through foggy woods. The colors of the flowers fade away as life passes by and the long rain falls to the beat of Porcelain Doll. A deadly delivery of razor sharp morbid rhythms.

Covers screen printed and hand glued at Rat Trap, Bogota
Includes lyric insert

Our take: I was really looking forward to this debut 7” from Portland’s Excess Blood, as their 2024 demo on Stucco has been one of my most played demos of the past several years. Whereas a lot of demos fall off the playlist within a few months, I kept returning to Excess Blood, enjoying it more with each listen. Thankfully, the debut EP does not disappoint. Listening to Porcelain Doll brings into better focus what stands out about Excess Blood: I think it’s that they take a sub-genre I can be ambivalent or even skeptical about—post-punk / goth / death rock / whatever you want to call it—and really bring their own voice and flavor to the sound, mostly by giving it a big infusion of hardcore muscle. Yes, they have the spooky vocals, chorus guitars, and two-handed hi-hat beats you expect from a band with those genre tags, but they also have a lot of raw screamed vocals, cool syncopated rhythms, generally fast tempos, and a percussionist who really smacks the fuck out of their drums. Further, each of Porcelain Doll’s four tracks brings something unique to the table. The title track comes first and it’s the spookiest of the bunch, with a vibe that’s like a hardcore-informed version of early Bauhaus. The second track, “Cathedral Park,” is a speedy hardcore tune with a cool choppy drumbeat in the verse and a big singalong chorus keeping it super exciting for its entire 75-second duration. “Turned to Stone” starts with a bass line very similar to Joy Division’s “Transmission,” but as it spreads across its three and a half minutes you get memorable guitar riffs, more cool vocal melodies, and an atmosphere that shifts between menacing and wistful. And then the final track, “Clamor of Please,” is something totally different, a punkier Misfits-esque song with a melodic riff and an upbeat, fun-sounding punk rhythm. Through all these permutations, Excess Blood sounds confident and powerful; it doesn’t seem like all this eclecticism stretches their abilities, but rather hints at their capabilities. It makes me yearn for a full-length that does all this and more, but at the same time I hope they don’t rush it, as the density of inspiration here is a big part of its power.