Surf Coast’s De Porsal are spearheading Australia’s alt-country scene with new release Soft Cowboy
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24.03.2023

Surf Coast’s De Porsal are spearheading Australia’s alt-country scene with new release Soft Cowboy

Words by Alex Callan

A tale of Cowboys, Love, Pain and Deceit.

For the last print issue of Forte, I compiled a list of Victorian up-and-comers worth keeping an eye on. After hearing De Porsal’s newest release Soft Cowboy, I wish I had written that article a week later. Not only are the Torquay-based four-piece well and truly deserving of being included in the list, they also are one of the few acts hailing from around the region to be bringing a genuinely different feel to the local scene.

In many’s eyes, this is the most important characteristic for an up-and-coming band to possess.

Keep up with the latest music news, festivals, interviews and reviews here.

Pulling elements from country, rock, psychedelia and indie, De Porsal mark themselves as a truly unique act. Having played together since they were children, the Torquay-based outfit comprised of the Willingham brothers (Cooper, Chay, Rory and Xander) boasts an array of stylistic changeups, often bouncing between genres to create ambient, cinematic inspired arrangements. 

From the slow drawl of Cooper’s baritone vocals on ‘Spur Of The Moment’, to the creeping rock n roll swagger of ‘The Soft Cowboy Pt 1′, it’s evident that the group have dabbled heavily into a country/western rock sound for this release, however, in its entirety Soft Cowboy stands out as much more than your standard country rock record. 

Instead, its output leans more into the spacious arrangements; effortless, meandering guitar licks and left of centre instrumentation that you’d expect from modern psych-rock outfits such as Khruangbin or Kikagaku Moyo. From the use of a jaw harp on ‘Pickersgill’, to the shoegaze inspired distortion of ‘An Offer’, there are many moments that lend from the free-flowing, experimental nature of psych-rock.

All this sees Soft Cowboy to, at times, feel more like an album of professionally curated compositions compiled together as a cinematic score. The inclusion of violin; jaw harp and synths, which are utilised alongside the group’s assemblage of folk rock instrumentation, further enhance the evocative, cinematic landscape of their sound. This seems to be a very intentional characteristic with the up and comers employing both Eve Wickson; as well as their own parents Kylie and Dale Willingham, to provide the foley needed to create such visceral and immersive tones. 

This is quite an uncommon credit to see on an album’s liner notes. But at the same time, it’s also quite uncommon to come across a local act with such a fully fledged vision, executed so flawlessly, so early on in their career.

But yet, De Porsal seems to pull it off with ease.

Possessing an all encapsulating sound that’s as equally suited for radio play as it is for film soundtracks, De Porsal mark themselves as all but a guarantee to be the next newcomer’s spearheading Australia’s alt-country scene.

Soft Cowboy is out now. Check it out on Bandcamp here