Torpedo Delivers A Poetic and Gritty Punk and Noise-Rock Opus

A rambunctious new album release from Torpedo hits with this gritty, fuzz tone, dirty, and grungy set of tonalities, fascinating guitar work, noise, and it all comes together in the form of what I would consider to be a concept album that takes you for a bit of a haunting and edgy Journey from start to finish.

The record certainly boasts experimental, psychedelic, Stoner, and more, along with the garage overtones that they display, as it seems their influence by a bunch of greats that you would hear in the underground in the late 90s or early 2000s.

I can hear elements of bands like Godspeed You Black Emperor, along with Sonic Youth, and loads of others, but this record definitely holds a semi-cinematic and rough-edged approach and soundscape that can absolutely suck you into their world.

The release is called 

The record starts with a track called "SOME WOLVES", which starts to give you a feel for some of that great garage tonality and edginess, explosive Sonic drive, and waves of intensity that this record will deliver.

The vocals are double-tracked and riddled with swagger; they have this robust sort of attitude and allure to them that makes them both slightly gritty but also sexy at the same time.

Guitars perform this great sort of semi-experimental approach and then burst into a little bit more heaviness, bringing out more melody, and the song sort of builds into something bigger as it plays on.

You can hear elements of jazz undertones as well. In the sense that they are writing these songs without any kind of boundaries built around them, and that's part of what makes it enticing.

In this very first track alone, you hear it run the gamut of amazing, grungy, rock approaches again, coated in that garage tonality and with elements of punk rock thriving through.

This first track alone is almost eight and a half minutes in length. So, it's a lot to soak in right from the get-go, but it's fun. You get this whole atmosphere that surrounds you, and it is a little dark and pretty edgy, but it carries with it this great melodic undertone and a particular kind of flow that lets the song open up in certain ways.

From there, the record falls into more of a noise and feedback sort of feel that includes elements of samples, decimated tones, and connective elements.

These feel almost more like interludes, which adds to the whole theatrical sense that the release displays.

Then we have "ONW", which is a huge, explosive track coming in with thunderous drums and whaling, thrashing guitars, absolutely giving that punk rock approach full force but still keeping things slightly haunting.

Throughout this track, you get the full spectrum. You get the thrash, the elements of math, and progressive, as some clean and layered guitars overlap each other in the middle of the track and create a different sense of being.

It all comes back to that explosive approach and attitude-riddled vocals, which is all part of the staple that the record gives off.

Now, this whole thing has its own vibe. It, again, builds its own atmosphere and pulls you into it, and this is part of why I suggest actually listening through the entire release.

Even the tracks that are more noise-oriented and cinematic have a way of keeping you in that sort of grungy, trudging, feedback-induced state.

This record is a unique one. It has a lot to say both musically and lyrically. It was able to bring out a very particular brand of psychedelic, thrash punk, and noise rock that you get swallowed up by, and if you listen to the whole thing through, you have to reacclimate yourself again when it's all over.

Any kind of record that pulls you away from your reality is a good one.

It's insanely engaging, wild, vivacious and comes through with this intensity that you kind of hold on to.

Another thing I absolutely need to mention is the drumming. The drumming on this record is astounding from start to finish. This is part of the reason that the record has its particular flow, but also why it feels alive and breathing.

The drumming on this release is like the key element to why the songs have the aesthetic they do, in a sense.

Yes, the guitar work, the vocals, the bass guitar, the tones, and performances of all that stuff are amazing too. They also build that atmosphere, but without the drumming being the way it is, it just wouldn't feel the same.

The drumming took this thing to a different level and added to that wildness and built on that rambunctious and sort of gritty punch that was high energy and a little bit tense.

At any rate, dive headfirst into this one if you dare. Honestly, it's really fun, super engaging, and you'll end up kind of thinking about it for the rest of the day.

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