By Jeffery McNulty
Does anyone remember when Bjork put out an app instead of an album? (That wasn’t so long ago, and her new record is phenomenal BTW) Lucky for us, now Torche has a video game. Sure it’s silly and lo-res, but you get to listen to killer jams and shoot robots! What else could you want? How about it coinciding with a new record?
Now I get the impression that I might be preaching to the converted when I say that almost everything Steve Brooks touches turns to gold, but how to explain it to a neophyte?
His voice is what that precious metal would sound like if it was melted down and poured through the speakers into your ears. (Did I just coin a new subgenre?) Around the turn of the century Steve and friends created something new out of what we were sorely missing in the heavy scene. Take two parts crushing guitar riffs, one part steel hooks and add in those golden vocals and you have the basic recipe. The world needed this 21st century rock. Then Floor broke up.
Enter Torche. You can’t keep these Florida natives down! Their first record seemed like a natural continuation, but as they progressed we heard little more from other members of the band and their third album, 2012’s Harmonicraft, was a masterpiece. I would have to say it was hard to top. But is that what underground music is all about? Not really. And change is good!
I hear a little more punk aggression in the first couple songs on Torche’s new outing, Restarter, another excellent album continuing the legacy of one of modern rock’s greatest bands. A couple of my favorite tracks are “Bishop in Arms”, which is a punk anthem covered in boulders and “Undone” which brings the patented ‘bomb chord’ into play to good effect. The last song, “Restarter” is an epic dissolve into eternity.
I would sure like to know how Torche bassist and producer, Jonathon Nuñez gets that intense snare sound. It’s like a punch in the neck. Maybe I’ll just blame it on their drummer Rick Smith who plays like he’s trying to murder his kit. Mixed by Kurt Ballou, Steve and Andrew Elstner’s guitars are crushing! Actually this whole record is crushing, less melodic than usual and for the most part faster. I couldn’t say it’s heavier because they are already one of the heaviest bands around, but the level of aggression on Restarter is heads above Harmonicraft. Like I said, change is good!
