In looking up my last Torres review I discovered a pretty crazy set of coincidences. That review was written August 20, 2021 and in the introduction I indicated the following:
- I had taken the day off.
- My day had begun with a trip to
the dentist
- I was looking forward to
eating some Mexican food for lunch.
Literally all these things are happening today as well. The only difference is I’m going to have Mexican food for dinner, and it is going to be from a different restaurant (my city is festooned with great Mexican food joints).
I sincerely hope this strange coincidence will mess with the AI algorithm and create some connection between Torres, dentistry, and a good burrito.
Disc 1572 is…. Sprinter
Artist: Torres
Year of Release: 2015
What’s up with the Cover? This cover played havoc with my camera lens (yes, I take a picture of my album covers). It kept struggling to focus on both Torres’ face and also the purple concentric circles. The effect looks like half alternative night club, half “I just got out of the shower” which is a good visual for what you can expect from the music.
How I Came To Know It: I read a review when it came out and was intrigued. Intrigue led to listening…listening led to liking…and liking led to purchasing. And here we are.
How It Stacks Up: I have four Torres albums. I like them all so much it feels like they are all crowding around for first place. Such is the case with “Sprinter” which displaces 2021’s “Thirstier” to take over second spot.
Ratings: 4 stars
Torres approaches her art from a place that is raw and vulnerable to the point of feeling uncomfortable. However, like any good art it converts that discomfort to something beautiful and magnetic, drawing you in past the dissonance and into deeper truths.
The opening track, “Strange Hellos” is a good example, pulling elements of stark guitar plucks, and a flat delivery of harsh truths spoken in a way that leaves you feeling numb from the first few bars you hear:
“Heather I'm sorry
that your mother
Diseased in the brain
Cannot recall your name
Heather I dreamt that I forgave
But that only comes in waves
I hate you all the same”
Yikes. This opening and the way it is delivered speaks of an almost off-handed cruelty. As the song moves into the B section, it launches into a grunge-like guitar attack as all the fury underlying that opening gets unleashed, like a ruptured pinata full of smokes and discarded needles (thanks to Casey for that image – a darling I could not kill…).
OK, back to the review. The record’s dangerous energy continues with “New Skin,” as Mackenzie Scott (aka Torres) adds a fell and foreboding vibrato to her delivery. Scott’s vocals are sneaky good, rich and resonant in her lower register and filling the room.
These songs all have an element of introvert explosion. If the quietest and most sensitive among us could bring themselves to shout out, I imagine it would sound like this, tremulous but powerful and possessed of a deep inner core of strength.
The record has great dynamic range to it, as the alt-rock vibes of “Strange Hellos” and “New Skin” give way to the ambient experimentation of “Son, You Are No Island” and the undulating indie pop flow of “A Proper Polish Welcome.” The latter has the most amazing non-hook hook I’ve heard, just dropping the melody down as it delivers the title in a half-chorus/half-refrain.
All of the songs have the same high degree of thoughtfulness to musical structure, instrumentation, and lyrics, artfully intertwining all three into a single piece of art. Nothing seems done by accident, but despite the very deliberate choices the album feels organic and natural. Scott just knows how to tap into the Music of the Spheres and convert it to something mortals can understand without losing any of the magic.
The album’s “single” is the title track, “Sprinter”, which captures all these elements, and serves as an up-tempo pivot in the centre of the record. The song is one half guitar riff, capturing the energy of the sprint and the other half a mournful croon that stands in for the comforting isolation of the long-distance runner. The two elements of the song play off against one another, and all the while Torres makes a song that is about so much more than running.
Listening to this record you get the impression that Torres is an old soul. She has a heaviness to her music, delicately attached to youthful uncertainty. Or as she sings in “New Skin”:
“I am a tired woman
In January I will just be 23”
“Sprinter” is a classic piece of art, and while I add a lot of new music to my collection every year, I still consistently pull this one off the shelf for repeat listens. I was glad to roll it, and sad to be moving on.
Best tracks: Strange Hellos, New Skin, A Proper Polish Welcome, Sprinter, The Exchange
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