The "Final Final EP" is the first solo outing for Gregg Porter, who has drummed for such outfits as Unbunny, the Hotel Alexis, and Tigersaw. His CDR comes beautifully packaged in a cardboard sleeve with linocut a cover in an edition of 200. Porter's press release describes him as "an indie rock Phil Collins," which in certain ways is an apt description, but in other ways horribly misleading. For his EP, Porter, like Collins, does sing, but his music is very far removed from the slick pop of his fellow drumming front man. In any event, Porter, along with a cast of solid backing musicians, delivers six songs of lushly orchestrated, sleepy country/folk pop. It's very beautiful in parts, but still begins to drag a bit, even given its short running time.

Probably the best thing about Porter's EP is the instrumental arrangement. He incorporates everything from the standard vocals, guitar, and bass to more unconventional instruments like xylophone, bassoon, lap steel, and melotron. The songs "Drive a Man to Drink" and "Good God to Gerty" are about the best on the disc because there is so much to hear in all of the layers of instruments, not to mention the sweet vocal melodies and harmonies. Still, as the EP progresses it starts to feel like each song is stuck in the same slow, dreamy rut.

Parts of Porter's "Final Final EP" are a treat for the ears, but other parts were the audio equivalent of a warm glass of milk. The disc might have benefited from a little variety, or possibly some more drastic shifts in tempo. Altogether, the whole thing just seems slow. Really, from start to finish, there are interesting ideas and sounds sprinkled throughout, but it really needed something extra to make it stand out. 6/10 -- Matt Blackall (16 July, 2008)