Opening track "Letting Go" offers a properly loud
introduction. The totally blown out lead
guitar from Andrew Elstner holds nothing back, and the ferocious roar he lays
out carries through to "Kicking", an equally grand and bombastic track. "Walk it Off" is a no nonsense hardcore
thrill ride, and at just 1:26 in length it’ll have you gasping for air. "Solitary Traveler", "In Pieces" and "Reverse
Inverted" show off Torche’s penchant for sludge, combining red-hot intensity
and dense layers of guitar until it all oozes out like some kind of demented
molasses.
It’s not all about the punishing six-string salvos however,
as they are more than willing to display their melodic side as well. "Snakes Are Charmed" will please anyone with
a math rock or post rock fixation, while "Roaming" is the most straight up pop
song of the bunch. Towards the back of
the album "Skin Moth" serves as the perfect combination of Torche’s formula,
it’s catchy, it moves at a feverish pace, and most importantly it rocks the
fuck out of you.
At certain points the band can approach the cock rock of
Nickelback and other commercially blockbusting groups of that ilk, but luckily I
don’t think they will be putting on stadium tours any time soon. The more cringe worthy moments aside, Harmonicraft is a record with pop appeal
that doesn’t sacrifice the harder hitting pedigree Torche have become known
for. Is it made for a larger
audience? Sure. Does that really matter? I would say no.
Grade: B
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