SONGS FOR TORCHE

Unless you count 2009’s Healer / Across the Shields EP (which contained two new songs), Songs for Singles is the first Torche record of the post Juan Montoya era. Need fans of 2008’s stoner-pop gem Meanderthal worry that the guitarist’s departure would affect the band’s sound? One listen to Songs for Singles, which is currently streaming in full on Torche’s MySpace page, should allay those fears.

Thankfully the thundering riffs, churning grooves and melodious refrains that made Meanderthal so great are still intact on Songs for Singles. At only 21 minutes long, the album’s 8 songs are mostly short and sweet with five of them at or just above the 2:00 mark and “Lay Low” coming in at just 0:51, the only exceptions being album closers “Face the Wall” — a slower, atmospheric number that’s real departure for the band — and the 6+ minute instrumental “Out Again.” There’s absolutely nothing not to like about this album; it’s exactly what you want from Torche, nothing more nothing less.

Songs for Singles comes out tomorrow. Stream it here. Catch ’em on tour with High on Fire and Kylesa this fall; dates after the jump.

-VN

9/21 Orlando, FL @ Park Ave CDs (In-Store)
9/22 New Orleans, LA @ The Big Top Three Ring Circus
9/23 Dallas, TX @ The Nightmare
9/24 Austin, TX @ Red 7
9/26 Scottsdale, AZ @ Martini Ranch
9/27 Los Angeles, CA @ Bootleg Theater w/ Mountains of Blow

w/ High on Fire and Kylesa
9/29 San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
9/30 Pomona, CA @ Glasshouse
10/1 Flagstaff, AZ @ Orpheum Theatre
10/2 Albuquerque, NM @ The Launchpad
10/3 Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater
10/5 Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theatre
10/6 Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall Ballroom
10/8 Rock Island, IL @ Rock Island Brewing Company
10/9 Urbana, IL @ Canopy Club
10/10 Chicago, IL @ Metro (Riot Festival)
10/11 Bloomington, IN @ Bluebird
10/12 Columbus, OH @ The Summit *
10/13 Newport, KY @ Historic Southgate House
10/14 Detroit, MI @ Majestic Theatre
10/15 Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop
10/16 Rochester, NY @ Water Street Music Hall
10/17 Northampton, MA @ Pearl Street
10/19 Halifax, NS @ The Paragon Theatre (Halifax Pop Explosion)
10/21 Portland, ME @ Port City Music Hall
10/22 Providence, RI @ Club Hell
10/23 Cambridge, MA @ Middle East
10/24 New York, NY @ Webster Hall
10/26 Philadelphia, PA @ Starlight Ballroom
10/27 Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
10/29 Gainesville, FL @ Common Grounds (FEST 9)

* = Torche headlining show