Torchlight Red - The Raft We Arrved On
Torchlight Red was an indie/post-rock band from St. Louis, Missouri from 2005-2010. Whenever the band started the members were in junior high and it took a while for them to develop a sound, but what came out was amazing. Torchlight takes cues from bands like Explosions in the Sky, Sigur Ros, American Football, but also have somewhat of a early Modest Mouse sound to them as well. The band takes full advantage of their three guitarist and two drummers, who often times take over other instruments such as trumpets and glockenspiel, to create a moving ambient pieces that build up, calm down, and explode, while bassist/vocalist Conor Murphy, sings his brilliantly written stories, full of imagery over the beautiful backdrop. The opening track on the full length, titled "Climbing Mountain, Climbing ", is constantly repeating the tracks title and gives you an idea for what's ahead. Music that takes you to the peaks of highest mountains, but as soon as you reach the top it gives you so much more. Their longest track Oak, clocking in at 7:58, is a long emotionally driven piece. The midway point of the song, begins with the end of a climax and goes into softly strummed chords and Conor's soaring vocals, with a slight feedback. The song ends with soaring choir of "Oh's" and is a great climax. The closing track, In Our Prime, shows all of the young musicians talent. As soon as the vocals and fill exchanging drums come in, you can feel the amount of passion put into it. Soon, it drops, and the first very start of the song is repeated with slight differences. The drums soon have a tribal sound and the first explosion of the song is underway. The next drop comes, with twinkling bells and guitars, Conor repeats "So young, so filled with innocence. We all fulfill our promises.", until the closing track finally ends with a massive stop-start crash. The Brown Eyes EP, is also a very promising look, at what could have been one of the biggest bands in the indie scene. The members later went on to be in Family Might and many are now in the band Foxing.
Download: http://torchlightred.bandcamp.com/