Emmanuel Elone: There’s a lot to like about “Porch Light”, from it’s beautiful fingerpicking to the sweet fiddle sections. However, the best part, in my opinion, about the song are O’Donovan’s vocals, which are eerily reminiscent of Indigo Girls. At times, it can feel a bit sleepy, especially when the delicate instrumentation and O’Donovan’s melodic vocals combine, but “Porch Lights” is still a great country folk song at its core. [7/10]
Pryor Stroud: With featherlight guitar picking and pristine melodics reminiscent of Alison Krauss, “Porch Light” dovetails folk-ballad moodiness with bustling bluegrass energy, effectively creating a piece of pop-music short fiction about aimless lovers wandering around a countryside drained of hope and romantic vitality. “You kissed my cheek and left me on a city street,” O’Donovan sings, and it becomes clear that she initially returned to this countryside to escape a heartache born between skyscrapers, only to find more of it waiting for her. However, while gently delivered and delicately crafted, “Porch Light” is too standard singer-songwriter fare to really leave a lasting impression. [6/10]
Chris Ingalls: This could’ve ended up being a somewhat by-the-numbers folkie single, but the songwriting rises above that kind of generic blandness, O’Donovan has a wonderful, world-weary voice, and the instrumentation is quite sophisticated, with lots of bluegrass touches and textures. [7/10]
Chad Miller: The melody was gorgeous, and the instrumentation was very fitting, assisting with the folksy feel. I definitely felt traces of Joni Mitchell in it all. There are some really unexpected chords at play here, and O’Donovan does a lot with the melody in her hands. [8/10]
SCORE: 7.00