Porcelain resurfaces, ready to shine

When Porcelain first crossed the International Dateline to bring their amped-up melodrama to L.A., it was 2003, and the Australian quintet brought a little bit of everything -- heavy metal riffage, a punk sensibility and an electronic violin that made it all sound proggy. After playing to crowds in the thousands in their native country, they were slugging it out in downtrodden Hollywood clubs, trying to get the industry's ear. "Buoyant and mesmerizing" is how it seemed to me when I wrote about them in August of that year.

That they had signed to Universal escaped my notice until this week, when they announced their showcase tonight (7:45) at the Roxy, with a backgrounder telling of "musical sessions" with a litany of A-listers as they marched through the arduous process of making their debut album. That process began in late 2005, and the yet-to-be-titled album is only now being mixed, guitarist Ben Richards says, with an eye on a late-summer release.

Porcelain eventually recorded the album with producer Mike Green, who has worked with another violin-toting rock outfit, Yellowcard. On the sampler CD, "Better Off Without You" and "Heaven Let It Rain" come off as a bit overwrought, but, hey, that's epic to some listeners. I'll wait for the full album to decide. One thing for sure: People like their rock stars, and Porcelain front woman Lo Roberts has that quality. Between her emotive caterwauling, Richards' guitar leads and Asha Mevlana's violin, the quintet brings arena-rock energy to their live show. Overlong sessions in the studio won't change that.

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The Taste of Chaos Tour lands at the Long Beach Arena tonight, with the Used and 30 Seconds to Mars headlining. Orange County quintet Saosin, the subject of my Buzz Bands column in The Times print edition this week, is on the bill too.

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Tonight's touts: Nice benefit at Safari Sam's, with the likes of the Prix, the Shakes and New Fidelity performing the music of the Byrds, Love and the Kinks. A canned food donation gets you $2 off admission price. ... Cold War Kids have a sold-out show at the Troubadour. ... Gomez guys Ian Ball and Ben Ottewell perform at the Hotel Cafe. ... Michael Franti & Spearhead, along with Blacklicious, rock the Wiltern. ... Flogging Molly plays a sold-out gig at the Fonda Theatre. ... And Polus and Red Monroe are among the acts playing the Echo.

Comments

[Beth]

Where can I get a copy (mp3) of 'heaven let it rain'????????