Live, I was quite hypnotized by Azad Cheikosman’s ringing guitar building a circular sound of high notes,… it was repetitive, nervous and completed by Eric Fabbro’s meticulous and precipitated drumming and blue-haired Bidgette Moody’s propulsive bass.
The trio Torches played a dynamic set at the Echoplex on Monday night, and they were also releasing a new video for their song ‘I want something’, involving a large knife and some blood, which was projected on a screen in the back of the stage before their set.
This tune was catchy, and the trio was big-sound ambiance builders, with dynamic melodies driving the songs and lyrics sometimes repeated many times, mantra-style. The shimmering guitar and long vibrations of the bass were building a sort of hazy psychedelia whereas the melodies were going into circles. But we weren’t into shoegazing at all, as people were dancing over the bouncy rhythms and even fast clapping during some songs. It was a mix of fuzziness and piercing high notes, and the dynamism of their vibrating melodic lines evoked the disoriented flight of a butterfly going from a flower to the next one.
They played several songs off their debut album ‘Heads Full of Rust’, released last May, with Cheikosman on the vocals and some help from Moody. I thought their song called ‘Six’ was particularly hypnotic, digging dreamy grooves, but they also played a song called ‘In My Sleep’, which could explain a lot. ‘Silver Haired Girl’ had a catchy floating feeling, and ‘Out of the Desert’ had some trance-like state before going into catchy chorus mode, and ending with the three of them on drums.
Cheikosman described the album like this in an interview: ‘This record is about being confused, having lust, greed, and searching for…something’… and their music was effectively searching for a right balance between distinct rock rhythms and the haze of the background.
Setlist
Dead Face
Watched You Like a Hawk
If The People Stare
When You Gonna
I Want Something
Six
In My Sleep
Silver Haired Girl
Out of the Desert
