Songs for Singles

Last updated
Songs for Singles
Songs For Singles - Torche.png
Artwork for external "envelope" encasing the album packaging.
EP by
Torche
ReleasedSeptember 21, 2010
RecordedEarly 2010 at La Casa Nuñez in Miami, Florida
Genre Sludge metal, pop rock
Length21:47
Label Hydra Head (HYH-207)
Producer Jonathan Nuñez
Torche chronology
Chapter Ahead Being Fake
(2009)		Songs for Singles
(2010)		 Torche / Part Chimp
(2011)

Songs for Singles is an EP by the American rock band Torche. The album was released on September 21, 2010 through Hydra Head Records. [1] It is the first Torche album, and second release after the split single Chapter Ahead Being Fake , to not feature guitarist Juan Montoya.

Contents

Writing and recording

Torche was originally planning on writing their third full-length album, and follow up to 2008's Meanderthal , but ended up releasing an EP of songs they were working on as Songs for Singles instead. With little interest in writing another album similar to Meanderthal, they started writing songs that would be more fun to play in a live setting. [2] The group quickly recorded music for about 12 tracks for an album, but struggled to write lyrics and record vocals for the songs. [3] According to bassist Jonathan Nuñez, the music was too "full," and when Torche tried to incorporate vocals, "[...] It was like, 'Whoa.' It was kind of overwhelming a little bit." [3] Guitarist and singer Steve Brooks recorded his vocal tracks about a dozen different ways before settling on a composition that fit well with the music. [2] As a group, they also had to strip the musical parts of the songs down to a more simplified arrangement to fit in the vocal tracks, and due to the lengthy process, decided on releasing a short EP in the interest of time. [3] Originally, some of the songs written during these recording sessions that didn't end up on Songs for Singles were expected to be released on their following studio album. [3] However, Rick Smith later denied this claim. [4] The lyrics for Songs for Singles take on a stream of consciousness narrative perspective, and have been described as dream-like and nonsensical by Brooks. He also commented, "That's why I don't print the lyrics, actually. I don't want anyone overanalyzing every little stupid thing I say." [5]

Songs for Singles is the first album, and second release overall after the song "King Beef" released on Chapter Ahead Being Fake , to not feature second guitarist Juan Montoya. Torche has stated that they write and record faster and more efficiently without Montoya in the band. [6] Nuñez commented, "We always wrote as a group even with Juan in the band... But when we became a three-piece, it was a really productive process. With Me, Rick, and Steve, I think we work fairly quickly, we know what we want, and we know how to get it, and we know when it's right." [6]

Songs for Singles was self-produced by the band members themselves in order to achieve a more raw sound. Nuñez stated that their goal during production was to create "something that connects a little more to what we feel it should sound like, and what it will hopefully sound like live." [3] By this point in the band's career, the only Torche album that was not self-produced was Meanderthal which was recorded with Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou. Retrospectively, after the EP's release, Torche expressed their gratitude for working with a third-party in the studio, and suggested that Songs for Singles may be their final self-produced record. Brooks commented, "It's easier to work with other people sometimes, and we were driving ourselves a little crazy on this one... I think we're gonna do [the next album] with someone else, just to eliminate over-analyzing things and nitpicking little things, and having an outside ear help guide us." [7]

Release

Prior to the release of the EP, the opening track "U.F.O." was previously made available on a free Hydra Head Records downloadable sampler. However, this early version was jokingly contained David Lee Roth's vocal track from Van Halen's 1978 single "Runnin' with the Devil," and was created by Hydra Head without Torche's knowledge. [8] [9] Roth's vocal track was leaked online in 2008, and has since become an Internet meme as various mashups with other famous songs have been posted on the web. [10] The version of "U.F.O." on Songs for Singles doesn't feature Roth's vocals. The song was also released as a stand-alone digital single on August 24, 2010, [5] featuring similar cover art to Songs for Singles. [11] A music video for the single directed by Andrew Cox was released on October 11, 2010. [12]

Songs for Singles was posted in full on the band's MySpace for streaming on the weekend before its official release. [13]

Two previously unreleased songs, "Pow Wow" and "80s Prom Song," recorded during the Songs for Singles sessions, were released as a flexi disc single in Decibel magazine's March 2012 issue. [14]

Reception

Critical and commercial reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic (74/100) [15]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [16]
BBC Music (favorable) [17]
Crawdaddy! (favorable) [18]
Decibel (9/10) [19]
Exclaim! (favorable) [20]
Pitchfork Media (7.4/10) [21]
PopMatters (7/10) [22]
Rock Sound (7/10) [23]
Spin (8/10) [24]
The A.V. Club (unfavorable) [25]

Songs for Singles garnered generally positive reviews from music critics. Much praise was given to the album's relatively lengthy final two tracks: "Face the Wall," and "Out Again." Tom Breihan of Pitchfork Media commented that these tracks are where the album "really takes off" and that they "slow down their attack noticeably, letting space and dynamics creep into the guitar-storm." [21] James Greene Jr. of Crawdaddy! described these two songs as the album's "real meat" and continued, "Rolling out like methodic and slow-moving urban assault vehicles, these cuts will probably save Torche's latest EP from the danger of being written off as 'less than essential' by our unwashed critical masses." [18]

Songs for Singles became Torche's first charting album, which peaked at number 38 on Billboard's Top Heatseekers albums chart. [26]

Accolades

PublicationCountryAccoladeYearRank
Exclaim! [4] CanadaTop 10 Metal Albums of the Year20101
Punknews.org [27] USTop 10 EPs of the Year20102 (tie)
Rock Sound [28] UKTop 75 Albums of the Year201022

Track listing

  1. "U.F.O." – 1:53
  2. "Lay Low" – 0:51
  3. "Hideaway" – 2:03
  4. "Arrowhead" – 2:17
  5. "Shine on My Old Ways" – 1:49
  6. "Cast into Unknown" – 2:11
  7. "Face the Wall" – 4:32
  8. "Out Again" – 6:11

[16]

Personnel

Torche [29]

Production and recording [29]

Artwork and design [29]

Related Research Articles

Isis (band) American post-metal band (1997–2010)

Isis was an American post-metal band formed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1997. The band borrowed from and helped to evolve the post-metal sound pioneered by bands such as Neurosis and Godflesh, characterized by lengthy songs focusing on repetition and evolution of structure. Isis's last studio album, Wavering Radiant, was released on May 5, 2009. Isis disbanded in June 2010, just before the release of a split EP with the Melvins. In 2018, the group reformed as Celestial for a one-off show to pay tribute to Caleb Scofield.

Converge (band) American metalcore band

Converge is an American hardcore punk band formed by vocalist Jacob Bannon and guitarist Kurt Ballou in Salem, Massachusetts in 1990. During the recording of their seminal fourth album Jane Doe, the group became a four-piece with the departure of guitarist Aaron Dalbec and the addition of bassist Nate Newton and drummer Ben Koller. This lineup has remained intact since. They have released nine studio albums, three live albums, and numerous EPs. The band's sound is rooted in both hardcore punk and heavy metal, and they are considered pioneers of metalcore as well as its subgenre mathcore.

Botch (band)

Botch was an American mathcore band formed in 1993 in Tacoma, Washington. The band, featuring Brian Cook, Dave Knudson, Tim Latona and Dave Verellen, spent four years as a garage band and released several demos and EPs before signing to Hydra Head Records. Through the label, Botch released two studio albums: American Nervoso (1998) and We Are the Romans (1999). The group toured extensively and internationally in support of their albums with liked-minded bands such as The Blood Brothers, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Ink & Dagger and Jesuit. Botch struggled to write a third studio album, and in 2002 the group broke up due to tensions among the band members and creative differences. Hydra Head posthumously released an EP of songs the group had been working on before they split titled An Anthology of Dead Ends and a live album documenting their final show titled 061502 in 2006.

<i>Panopticon</i> (album) 2004 studio album by ISIS

Panopticon is the third full-length album by Los Angeles, California based post-metal band ISIS, released by Ipecac Recordings in 2004. The album's title is derived from philosopher Jeremy Bentham's panopticon prison ideal and philosopher/historian Michel Foucault's later allegorical appropriation of the concept. The liner notes also include quotes from technology writer Howard Rheingold and futurist Alex Steffen; as a concept album, Panopticon's focus is on the proliferation of surveillance technologies throughout modern society and the government's role in that spread.

<i>Slavestate</i> 1991 EP by Godflesh

Slavestate is an EP by industrial metal band Godflesh. It was released in July 1991 through Earache Records. The EP saw the band experimenting with more samples and electronic sounds than their predominantly industrial metal prior releases.

Hydra Head Records discography

This is a complete discography of Hydra Head Records releases. Hydra Head Records is an independent record company based in Los Angeles, California, founded in 1993 by Aaron Turner. It has two imprints, Hydra Head Noise Industries, which specialises in experimental and noise music, and another entitled Tortuga Recordings.

<i>The Fire in Our Throats Will Beckon the Thaw</i> 2005 studio album by Pelican

The Fire in Our Throats Will Beckon the Thaw is the second full-length studio album by Chicago post-metal band Pelican. It was released May 22, 2005 on Hydra Head Records. Regarding the lengthy and unusual name of the album, guitarist Trevor de Brauw joked, "The title is meant to confuse people. The original title was going to be Black Doom on Tuesday."

Torche (band)

Torche is an American heavy metal band from Miami, Florida. The group formed in 2004 and has released five full-length studio albums, four EPs, two split albums, and three singles. They released their fifth full-length studio album, Admission, on July 12, 2019.

<i>In Return</i> (EP) 2007 EP by Torche

In Return is the second release by American stoner metal band Torche. It was released on September 18, 2007 through Robotic Empire in the United States and Rock Action Records in Europe on October 15. Artwork and design were created by Baroness singer John Dyer Baizley.

Isis discography

Isis was an American post-metal band, active from 1997 until their disbandment in 2010. They released five full-length albums, five extended plays (EPs), seven live albums, two singles, and have collaborated with other artists on numerous other projects.

Floor (band)

Floor is an American doom/sludge metal band from Miami, Florida, U.S. that was formed in 1992 by Steve Brooks, Anthony Vialon and Betty Monteavaro with Brooks and Vialon being the only constant members. The band has released three full length studio albums to date: Floor, Dove and Oblation and one EP: Madonna.

<i>Meanderthal</i> 2008 studio album by Torche

Meanderthal is the second full-length studio album by American heavy metal band Torche. It was released on April 8, 2008.

<i>Torche</i> (album) 2005 studio album by Torche

Torche is the debut album by American metal band Torche. The album was released through Robotic Empire on March 8, 2005. It was also reissued on June 18, 2007 through Rock Action Records with a bonus track and alternate artwork. The opening track, "Charge of the Brown Recluse", is a new version of the song that was released before by the band Floor, which Steve Brooks and Juan Montoya were members, and appears in the box-set Below & Beyond.

<i>Healer / Across the Shields</i> 2009 EP by Torche

Healer / Across the Shields is an EP by Miami-based band Torche. It was released as a 12″ vinyl with a DVD containing music videos for "Healer" and "Across the Shields". The vinyl was colored either black, orange, or purple. Side A consists of two tracks from Torche's previous release, Meanderthal, while side B contains two tracks that are exclusive to this EP.

<i>Chapter Ahead Being Fake</i> 2009 EP (split) by Torche and Boris

Chapter Ahead Being Fake is a split album featuring songs from Japanese band Boris and American band Torche. The album was released on August 19, 2009 in Japan through Daymare Records on CD, the same day Boris's split album with 9dw, Golden Dance Classics, was released. This is the first release from Torche as a three-piece band after parting ways with second guitarist Juan Montoya in 2008. A video for Torche's "King Beef" was released on January 5, 2010.

Cave In discography

The discography of Cave In, an American rock band, consists of five studio albums, two live albums, two compilation albums, seven EPs, three singles, three splits, eight compilation contributions and three music videos. Cave In formed in 1995 in Methuen, Massachusetts, where thereafter they began releasing several split singles and demos that eventually culminated in the 1998 compilation album Beyond Hypothermia. Cave In's first studio album, Until Your Heart Stops, was released later in 1998 through Hydra Head Records. These early releases from the band are often considered important albums in developing the metalcore genre. The band gradually began to move away from heavy metal and took a more alternative rock and progressive rock approach to their music beginning in 1999 with the EP Creative Eclipses. This new direction continued with Jupiter, Cave In's second studio album in 2000. Cave In released one more EP through Hydra Head Records in 2002, Tides of Tomorrow, before signing with RCA Records.

<i>Melvins / Isis</i> 2010 EP by Melvins and Isis

The Melvins and Isis released a split EP on Hydra Head Records in 2010, with each band contributing two tracks. Isis' "Way Through Woven Branches" had previously only been available as a bonus track on the Japanese edition of their last full-length, Wavering Radiant, whilst "Pliable Foe" was exclusive to this release. Both tracks were recorded during the Wavering Radiant sessions. Meanwhile, the Melvins tracks are reworked from their release The Bride Screamed Murder, described as displaying the "dadaist/trickster tendencies of the band which has frustrated and delighted fans in equal measure since the beginning of their existence". The album was released July 13, 2010 on CD format, with vinyl copies available a week earlier from Vacation Vinyl in Los Angeles.

Deafheaven American metal band formed in 2010

Deafheaven is an American blackgaze band formed in 2010. Originally based in San Francisco, the group began as a two-piece with singer George Clarke and guitarist Kerry McCoy, who recorded and self-released a demo album together. Following its release, Deafheaven recruited three new members and began to tour. Before the end of 2010, the band signed to Deathwish Inc. and later released their debut album Roads to Judah, in April 2011. A follow-up album, Sunbather, was released in 2013 to wide critical acclaim, becoming one of the best reviewed albums of the year in the United States. In 2015 the band released their third album, New Bermuda, and in 2018 their fourth, Ordinary Corrupt Human Love. In 2021, they released their fifth album, Infinite Granite.

<i>Surgical Steel</i> (album) 2013 studio album by Carcass

Surgical Steel is the sixth full-length album by British death metal band Carcass. The album was released on 13 September 2013 in Europe, 16 September in the UK, and 17 September in North America, via Nuclear Blast. Surgical Steel is Carcass' first studio album since Swansong (1996), and their first to feature Dan Wilding as the replacement of original drummer Ken Owen, although the latter does provide backing vocals on the album. This was also the band's first album since Symphonies of Sickness (1989) to be recorded as a three-piece, and their first one to reach the Top 50 in UK album charts.

Harms Way (band)

Harm's Way is an American straight edge hardcore punk band from Chicago, Illinois, formed in 2006. The band started as a side project, but ended up becoming a more serious and full-time band in their later years. Harm's Way has since released four studio albums: Reality Approaches (2009), Isolation (2011) and Rust (2015) and several EP's. On February 9, 2018, the band released their critically acclaimed Metal Blade Records debut, titled Posthuman. They have been recognized for their unique blend of metal, industrial, and hardcore music.

References

  1. ↑ Shotwell, James (July 1, 2010). "Torche have Songs for Singles". Alternative Press . Retrieved July 1, 2010.
  2. 1 2 Fury, Jeanne (November 2010). "This Is Why They're Hot". Decibel . No. 73. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Red Flag Media Inc. p. 43. ISSN   1557-2137.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Begrand, Adrien (June 2010). "In the Studio: Torche". Decibel . No. #68. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Red Flag Media Inc. p. 18. ISSN   1557-2137.
  4. 1 2 Sam, Sutherland (December 2010). "Metal: Year in Review 2010". Exclaim! . Retrieved December 12, 2010.
  5. 1 2 S, Jack (August 19, 2010). "Torche Announce US Tour w/ High on Fire and Kylesa". AltSounds. Retrieved August 19, 2010.
  6. 1 2 Landau, Erica K. (July 14, 2010). "Q&A: Jonathan Nunez from Torche, Playing Respectable Street Saturday". New Times Broward-Palm Beach . The Village Voice . Retrieved July 23, 2010.
  7. ↑ Meyer, Mike R. (September 23, 2010). "Torche's Steve Brooks Discusses His Band's New EP and Being Gay in Hard Rock Group". Phoenix New Times . Village Voice Media . Retrieved September 24, 2010.
  8. ↑ Brandon (July 1, 2010). "Torche Songs For Singles Album Info". Stereogum . Retrieved July 1, 2010.
  9. ↑ Pratt, Greg (July 2, 2010). "Torche to Release Songs for Singles in September". Exclaim! . Retrieved July 2, 2010.
  10. ↑ Lymangrover, Jason (February 7, 2008). "The Diamond Album: David Lee Roth Needs a Beat". Allmusic . Archived from the original on February 11, 2008. Retrieved July 22, 2010.
  11. ↑ "U.F.O. – Overview". Allmusic . Retrieved July 22, 2010.
  12. ↑ "Torche Releases Their Video For 'U.F.O.'". Bloody Disgusting . October 11, 2010. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
  13. ↑ Paul, Aubin (September 17, 2010). "Media: Torche: "Songs for Singles"". Punknews.org. Retrieved September 17, 2010.
  14. ↑ Bonazelli, Andrew (January 19, 2012). "Fear, Emptiness, Decibel: Listen to the New Torche Flexi Disc!". MetalSucks . Retrieved January 20, 2012.
  15. ↑ "Songs for Singles – Torche". Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved October 11, 2010.
  16. 1 2 Heaney, Gregory. "Songs for Singles – Overview". Allmusic . Retrieved September 24, 2010.
  17. ↑ Diver, Mike (September 22, 2010). "Noisy rock that your parents could love? It's not right, but it is brilliant". BBC . Retrieved September 24, 2010.
  18. 1 2 Greene Jr., James (September 21, 2010). "Review: Songs for Singles". Crawdaddy! . Retrieved September 24, 2010.
  19. ↑ Bonazelli, Andrew (October 2010). "Goin' Steady". Decibel . No. 72. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Red Flag Media Inc. p. 105. ISSN   1557-2137.
  20. ↑ Carman, Keith (September 2010). "Review of Songs for Singles". Exclaim! . Retrieved 15 November 2010.
  21. 1 2 Breihan, Tom (September 16, 2010). "Review: Songs for Singles". Pitchfork Media . Retrieved September 16, 2010.
  22. ↑ Aspray, Benjamin (October 15, 2010). "Review: Songs for Singles". PopMatters . Retrieved October 19, 2010.
  23. ↑ Withers, Pete (September 19, 2010). "Torche - Songs For Singles". Rock Sound . Retrieved September 20, 2010.
  24. ↑ Gross, Joe (September 9, 2010). "Pitilessly rendering other heavy rockers lightweight". Spin . Retrieved September 11, 2010.
  25. ↑ Pierce, Leonard (September 8, 2010). "Extended play". The A.V. Club . Retrieved November 15, 2010.
  26. ↑ "Heatseekers Albums – Torche". Billboard . Retrieved March 5, 2015.
  27. ↑ PunkNews Staff (December 31, 2010). "Best of 2010: Punknews.org's picks". Punknews.org. Retrieved January 1, 2011.
  28. ↑ "Top 75 Albums Of 2010 Part Four: 30–16". Rock Sound . December 16, 2010. Retrieved January 1, 2011.
  29. 1 2 3 "Songs for Singles – Credits". Allmusic . Retrieved October 12, 2010.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.