I have seen hundreds upon hundreds of concerts over the years. I have seen all sorts of them, good and bad. I really don’t discriminate when it comes to live music. As long as I am entertained I will stay until the end. Of all of these shows, I can easily recall three that were the loudest while still sounding supremely impeccable. The top being when Torche played at Salt Lake City’s Urban Lounge in June of 2012. They about blew my eardrums out. Yet, the sound was perfect! Pure insanity! (For those who are wondering about the other two concerts. The second would be Ted Nugent followed by ZZ Top sometime around 1996. Ha, good times!) If you have not had the chance to see Torche live, believe me when I say that you are truly failing in life. I have had the chance to see them multiple times at this point and even when they were just too loud for the venue and kept tripping the breakers throughout the show, they were nothing short of amazing.
In February Torche released their fourth LP, Restarter on Relapse Records. This album slays! The Florida-based band took all the pop-sludge greatness that they are known for and dialed into focus to make a really heavy, cohesive, and fun album. Restarter focuses around a theme of the complications and perils surrounding the inevitable advances in technology and artificial intelligence. The band has just released a stunning music video for the album’s opening track, “Annihilation Affair,” which coincides with the albums theme. I know it is early in the year, but I am sure that Restarter will make my year-end favorites.
I was fortunate enough to get in touch with Torche’s Jonathan Nuñez for his second interview with Bearded Gentlemen Music (check out the first interview/concert review here!) In our latest conversation, I was able to ask him about Restarter, all things playing live (including their 10 year anniversary tour, playing in Europe, etc.) and even about his all time favorite band T-shirt. Take a listen!