That’s Torche guitarist and producer Jon Nuñez talking about his band’s uneasy
relationship with categorisation.
Over the last 15 years, Torche—led by the core trio of Nuñez, guitarist/vocalist Steve Brooks and drummer Rick Smith—have often been saddled with one-dimensional niche terms like doom, sludge or stoner rock, but none of them really apply.
“That shit is tiresome,” he says. “When people ask me
what kind of music we play, I just say, ‘Loud rock n’ roll.’”
Which is a good way to describe Torche’s fifth and latest album, Admission. From the
rumbling cannonade of opener “From Here” and chunky bomb-string detonator
“What Was” to the staccato siren song “Reminder” and glistening thunder pop of the
title track, it’s a record that manages to be hi-powered, dynamic and melodic—all at
the same time.
“To me, it’s a real record with peaks and valleys and emotional ups
and downs,” Nuñez offers. “Musically, the intensity doesn’t stay in one lane.”
Nuñez says Admission’s musical range—and Torche’s unwillingness to be pinned
down—is a result of the band’s wide spectrum of unlikely influences. “I feel like we
all listen to so many different types of music, but not really much within the realm of
what we’re considered to play,” he explains. “We like 70s rock, shoegaze, ambient
music, obscure noise, and stuff we grew up with like Latin or Hispanic music. All of
us grew up in Miami during an interesting time, so there’s all kinds of things that
drew us in.”
Behind the scenes, Torche underwent some lineup changes in the wake of 2015’s
Restarter. First off, Nuñez switched from bass to guitar. To fill the bass position they enlisted Eric Hernandez of Miami noise-rockers Wrong, who joined the original Torche triumvirate in time to play on Admission. “We knew right away that Eric was the guy,” Nuñez explains. “He’s bailed us out on drums before when Rick had some health issues. Now that this is the lineup, things are easier. No one needs to be told anything, and everyone’s excited.”
The fact that Nuñez switched to guitar during a short break between tours didn’t
slow Torche down in the least. “We bounced back pretty fast,” he confirms. “I
jumped on guitar in nine days and we did a whole US tour. I was so nervous at that
first show that I got a headache onstage. But then you ease into it and it feels right.”
With the band’s members spread between Florida and Los Angeles, Torche got
together whenever possible to work on the songs that would become Admission.
“I think the only two we wrote on the spot were ‘Extremes Of Consciousness’ and
the closer, ‘Changes Come,’” Nuñez explains. “We wrote some in Gainesville, some in
LA, put one together in Colorado and a couple other ones came together in Miami. It
was exciting to do things differently and it kinda kept us on our toes.”
Catch Torche in Dublin’s Grand Social on Saturday, December 14th. Tickets are on sale NOW via WAV priced at €22 (inc booking fee).
Oran O’Beirne
www.overdrive.ie 2019
