The heavy sounds of Floridian titans Torche are back again after what seems like an eternity since 2012's Harmonicraft. To all you nuts out there hollering "Torche rules!" I salute you, and fear not this is quintessential Torche.
The most lighthearted (I know!) songs here is 'Loose Men' and 'Blasted', but there is still an almost nostalgic melancholy to it. The whole album has a more thoughtful and mature stance. It still takes nothing away from the quality of the content. As bassist Jonathan Nuñez stated in a Stereogum interview these songs are "a bit slower than Harmonicraft and the songs breathe more.".
Side B, or 'No Servants' onward, for you non-vinyl loving digital scum, is especially bleak. The last song, which is probably the most hypnotic and alluring of the songs, also the title track is an 8 minute plus beast which has its own dismal gravity. The lyrics simply read: "Our leaders are
Done with conversations"
And so Torche are done with conversations as these lyrics echo only twice during the lengthy epic, but they don't need to as the song glides along effortlessly and 8 minutes feel more like 3.
The weighty 'Barrier Hammer' swings like a wrecking ball in slow motion, its destructive force is immense, and is the doomiest the band have got in a long time. It is a slab of pile-driving heaviness summoned from the pits of despair, and would fit perfectly onto the In Return (2007) EP. The slow despondent churn of 'Believe It' gets your head nodding with its chunky main riffs, while the sultry leads suck you into the murky depths of dark imaginations.
There is a definite different vibe to Meanderthal (2008) and Harmonicraft, but closer to the former if you had to be picky. Things are gloomy indeed, but in a most gratifying way. With Restarter the band have still stayed on course but dropped some of the poppy pomp of previous outings. Maybe that's what the album is all about, a re-start for Torche in just a slightly different vein? It's worth a listen all day long for newcomers and lifelong fans alike.
