Rock of Thirst
Lesbian singer/songwriter unveils latest album
BY STEVE ERICKSON
Lesbian singer/songwriter
Torres (aka Mackenzie
Scott) was a musical theater
kid, and Broadway
left a mark on her style, although
she doesn’t sing showtunes. On her
latest album, “Thirstier,” her songs
dwell in a world of heightened emotions.
Her voice keens above thickly
distorted guitars. The album
roars out of the gate with its fi rst
two songs, “Are You Sleepwalking?”
and “Don’t Go Puttin Wishes
in My Head.” Its crunch looks back
to grunge and ‘90s indie rock, but
the production is carefully layered.
With whining synthesizer
and hand-claps, “Don’t Go Puttin’
Wishes in My Head” suggests the
Killers.
Last year, Torres was touring
Europe when the pandemic started
shutting down everyday life.
Abruptly, she had to cancel the
tour and fi nd a way back to the
US at a time when transcontinental
airline tickets were selling for
as much as $20,000 dollars, hopping
from Berlin to Amsterdam to
Moscow before making it to New
York. But as with her previous
three albums, she traveled to the
UK last fall to record “Thirstier”
with co-producer Rob Ellis. (She
and John Moses produced it with
Ellis.)
The fact that Torres was blocked
from reaching a live audience with
her 2020 album “Silver Tongue”
fed into the sound of “Thirstier.”
Unlike many contemporary rock
musicians, Torres does not make
herself small. “Thirstier” packs
a crunch that bridges the divide
between indie and arena-rock.
The lyrics aren’t always easy to
SHERVIN LAINEZ
Torres’ (Mackenzie Scott) is out with her latest album, “Thirstier.”
MUSIC
➤ TORRES, continued on p.19
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