#thunder pop

[vinylspinning]

Torche: Restarter (2015)

After enduring an inauspicious start to their career via an underrated eponymous debut, Torche's won all kinds of plaudits and awards in 2008 for their second long-player, Meanderthal, and 2012's Harmonicraft was nearly as popular.

Broadly hailed for their aptly-named "thunder pop" sound, melding elements of sludgecore and stoner rock with unusually bright melodies, the band was on a roll ... and proved it by signing a brand new deal with Relapse Records.

Then they issued their fourth LP, Restarter, just about 10 years ago and promptly saw their career momentum decelerate, just as surely as their songs did, under the weight of sluggish doom and meaty, ultra-compressed production -- even by Torche standards.

"And what's wrong with that?" said I ...

Personally, I saw nothing wrong with the elephantine drums and power chords that dominated feedback-laden slugfests (or should I say "sudgefests") like "Annihilation Affair," "No Servants," and "Barrier Hammer," let alone the sheer, mega-riffing hypnosis of "Minions" and "Believe It."

Sure, these cuts may have lacked the kinetic dynamics of Torche's critically-celebrated previous efforts (which helped endear them to indie rock music critics), but these ingredients still found their way into excellent cuts "Bishop in Arms," "Loose Men," and "Blasted."

The closing, eight minute title track also broke with the band's traditional economy, but its chugging tempo and keening melodies, which rose and fell in tandem with their underlying chord changes, worked surprisingly well, despite Steve Brooks' sparse vocals. Two unexceptional bonus cuts, "Harmonslaught" and "Rock 'n' Roll Mantasy," appeared on deluxe editions (as a 7-inch or a 12-inch with an etched side), and Relapse even developed an online video game called 'Torche vs. Robots: Annihilation Affair' to promote the album, which debuted at a band-best No. 133 on the Billboard charts.

Players were invited to "save Miami from evil robots by shooting them with orbs," which sounds like fun, but don't look for it -- it's not there anymore ...

And neither are Torche, who broke up in 2022 after releasing a fifth and, until further notice, final LP in 2019's Admission, which I definitely intend to cover here some time in the future.

More Torche: Torche, In Return EP, Meanderthal, Harmonicraft.

[vinylspinning]

Torche: In Return EP (2007)

Before Miami, Florida's Torche became underground darlings with the widely heralded release of 2008's Meanderthal and '12's Harmonicraft, they were just plain underground: working the Southern U.S. club circuit behind their self-titled debut album from '05.

Oh yeah, and 2007's In Return EP, which, unbeknownst to both the band and fans on either side of that underground divide, would serve as a small but important bridge -- or maybe a ladder? -- on the group's career and creative travels from one stage to another.

Founding members Steve Brooks (vocals/guitar), Juan Montoya (guitar), Jon Nuñez (bass, later guitar), and Rick Smith (drums) all hailed from gritty hardcore, sludgecore, and stoner rock scenes and groups with ordinary names like Floor, Cavity, and, uh, Shitstorm.

So it stands to reason that Torche's early works might surprise fans who discovered their self-proclaimed thunder-pop a few years later, then back-tracked to these seven songs (in 20 minutes) and heard mostly "thunder" and just little "pop."

To wit, ultra-heavy cuts like "Warship," "Olympus Mons," and "Tarpit Carnivore" deal in feedback-laden doom, and even harder-driving fare like the title track, "Hellion," and "Rule the Beast" prioritize dense, sludgy riff tectonics, saving most of their harmonic flights for Montoya's memorable solos.

And yet, imaginative counterpoints and changes-of-pace already abound and with the sweeping six-string layers and psychedelic nuances of "Bring Me Home," Torche unveiled a sunbeam amid this storm -- like signal that their melodic tendencies were bursting to get out.

The aforementioned albums issued in the next few years would confirm all of their creative potential, but they also somewhat overshadowed In Return's modest accomplishments, behind that nifty cover art designed by Baroness leader John Dyer Baizley.

But I would definitely recommend it to discerning heavy music collectors and completists, especially if you can track down this increasingly rare, but still refreshingly affordable, 10-inch format.

Just sayin' ...

More Torche: Torche, Meanderthal, Harmonicraft, Restarter.

[majman]

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