REVIEWSTorche, ‘Songs for Singles’

8

• SPIN Rating:8 of 10

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    Spotify

Release Date: September 21, 2010
Label: Hydra Head

What does one call eight songs in 25 minutes? An EP? A mini-LP? Just don't call it a placeholder -- there are too many bulldozer riffs here, even in the under-a-minute sketches. Either way, 15 years ago, this Miami-Atlanta trio's high-octane sludge pop would've been called indie rock, a subgenre now so constricted that this booming thunder gets lumped in with metal. "Face the Wall" can't help but sound anthemic despite its mood of resignation, but most of these tunes are explosive, including the closer "Out Again," which goes for extended krautrock hypnosis. Even there, not a second is wasted.