Typically an artist's best album is their first, or maybe they peak three albums into a career. Occasionally you'll get a Tom Petty who released Wildflowers almost twenty years after his debut album. But then you have TORRES, who seems to get better and better with each album. She's set to release her sixth in January, and judging by the first single, she might be continuing that streak. "Collect" is more of Mackenzie Scott's trademark version of indie rock. It's indie rock with some elements of pop, and almost impossibly intense. "Collect" is heavy on reverb, and has a very sinister vibe throughout. TORRES has crafted her own branch of indie rock, and with this one she's expended to an almost industrial sound. It might be the loudest song she's ever done without adding more rock guitar.
Mackenzie Scott says of her latest single:
“This song is about justice being served. The rage song I’ve been trying to write for years!"
You can watch the video for "Collect" below. What an enormous room is due out January 26 on Merge Records, and is available for pre-order here. For more on TORRES, check out the artist on Instagram and Facebook. Upcoming tour dates are below the video.
Wed, Jan 17 - Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop * Thu, Jan 18 - Chicago, IL @ Venue TBA Fri, Jan 19 - Columbus, OH @ A&R Music Bar * Sat, Jan 20 - Nashville, TN @ The Basement * Mon, Jan 22 - Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade (Purgatory) * Tue, Jan 23 - Durham, NC @ Motorco * Wed, Jan 24 - Washington, DC @ The Atlantis * Thu, Jan 25 - Philadelphia, PA @ The Foundry * Fri, Jan 26 - Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere * Sat, Jan 27 - Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair Fri, Feb 2 - Paris, FR @ Le Hasard Ludique Sat, Feb 3 - Bruges, BE @ Cactus Club Mon, Feb 5 - Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso Upstairs Tue, Feb 6 - Cologne, DE @ Bumann & SOHN Wed, Feb 7 - Berlin, DE @ Privatclub Thu, Feb 8 - Munich, DE @ Milla Sat, Feb 10 - Baden, CH @ One of a Million Festival Mon, Feb 12 - Manchester, UK @ YES Tue, Feb 13 - Bristol, UK @ Strange Brew Wed, Feb 14 - London, UK @ Oslo Wed, Mar 20 - Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge ^ Fri, Mar 22 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court ^ Sat, Mar 23 - Boise, ID @ Venue TBA Tue, Mar 26 - Seattle, WA @ Neumos ^ Wed, Mar 27 - Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios ^ Fri, Mar 29 - San Francisco, CA @ Cafe Du Nord ^ Sat, Mar 30 - Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room ^ Mon, Apr 1 - San Diego, CA @ Casbah ^ Tue, Apr 2 - Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar ^ Thu, Apr 4 - Dallas, TX @ Club Dada ^ Fri, Apr 5 - Austin, TX @ The Parish ^ Sat, Apr 6 - Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall (Upstairs) ^ * w/ Aisha Burns ^ w/ Liza Anne
Photo by Tonje Thilesen Ezra Furman has to be one of the most unique and yet all encompassing artists out today. Her latest single, "Forever In Sunset," combines elements of singer/songwriter fare, electronic music, and indie rock. It's an intense song that is almost a power ballad but is a little too heavy at times for that. It's a mish-mash of glam, adult contemporary, and post punk. That should not work at all, but most artists aren't Furman who apparently can do literally anything musically and make it masterful. Ezra Furman says of her new song: “The biggest influence on the lyrics of this song is a conversation I had with a friend of mine. When Covid was first hitting, she was talking to me a lot about how ready she felt. She was like, ‘people who have been comfortable in life are freaking out right now. But queer people like me have been in crisis before. I grew up poor and my family kicked me out when I was a teenager. My world has already ended plenty of ...
Photo by Ebru Yildiz Somehow TORRES keeps surprising us with her music. The musical project of Mackenzie Scott has released a new single that features her vocals and acoustic guitar that would feel at home in a neo-folk song over a pre-programmed drum beat with sounds that at times are either a light squall of guitar feedback and electronic noises. The song has this haunting and unsettling feeling to it, despite sounding like it's trying to be upbeat. I'd say art doesn't always have to be a pleasant experience, but "I got the fear" can be a pleasant listening experience, except for the times it's not. Mackenzie Scott says of her latest single: “A collective dread has been mounting. Everyone I know is having a brawl with the universe, with themselves…wars, climate catastrophe, a pandemic, the worldwide regression on human rights, the political hellscape — it affects everybody, and I know we’re all feeling it in waves of varying degree all the time. I think it’s...
Photo by Gia Smith There's prolific, and then there's Derek Smith. The Boston musician's latest single with the Cosmic Vultures, "Hollow Choir," is his eightieth song in the past eight years. It also helps explain the genre psychedelic folk-rock. The song is a little over three minutes, but the genre makes it feel much more epic. It's smooth sounding with trippy little flourishes, particularly in the guitar. At times, it sounds almost Adult Contemporary, but it's far too psychedelic for that. It's the play between the mainstream and the alternative side of folk that makes "Hollow Choir" work so well. Derek Smith and the Cosmic Vultures have long had this ability to provide a little something for everyone, and their latest proves that more than previous ones have. Derek Smith says of his latest single: “This song sums up the feelings I have had towards my music career for the last few years. I am always being told what I should do or what I sh...
