Torche are one of those bands who don’t believe in clichés. They are a stoner rock band by most accounts but, rather than sticking to the reverberating spaced out weed-a-thon favoured by most of their contemporaries in the genre, Torche have spent most of their career being more concise than any band of their ilk has a right to be. 2008’s 'Meanderthal' set their template up and with 'Harmonicraft' they have really upped the consistency levels to produce what should end up as a firm favourite for fans of heavy music this summer.
Torche almost exude heat with their mix of baked riffs, punk intensity and, of course, their finely tuned pop sensibility. From opener 'Letting Go' onwards, Torche pack enough groove and powerful riffing to make other contenders break down and cry. When they hit peak form, as they do very regularly here, they are a truly unstoppable force. Without ever proving themselves irritating or guilty of overthinking their ideas, Torche have been able to put together an album that is a genuinely exhilarating and never grating listen. With all the tracks having real merit as well, there really can be no accusations of there being filler material present. This is wall to wall hits.
To be honest, there isn’t really much more that can be said. The only way you can really understand the joys that this album has to offer is to stick it on and let it take you on one hell of a ride, and in a way that is probably the biggest compliment it could ever be given. Original and defiantly so, this is clearly going to be one of the rock records of 2012.
'Harmonicraft' is out on Monday via Volcom.
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