April 24, 2012 • Volcom Entertainment
Sometimes it sucks to be a fan of a band, especially when they have one particular album you really love. No matter what else that band releases, it'll always be compared to that one album, and you'll never find it to be as good even if it has its own merits. Meanderthal was that album for me; I loved its unique style with the catchy yet heavy and complex riffs, upbeat mood, and soaring chord progressions. Harmonicraft is basically more of the same, and while it's not as good as Meanderthal it's still one fine album.
For the most part, Torche isn't breaking out and trying anything new with this album, so if you have heard anything by them before you're getting more of the same here. There is a bit more melding of the short, punky sound like the tracks on Songs for Singles and chugging riffage, so there's a nice bit of variation there. Maybe it's my attention span, but here I'm really getting into those short tracks, those tiny nuggets of riffage that are practically over as soon as they've begun, such as "Walk It Off", "Sky Trials", or "Kiss Me Dudely". I think they show off what Torche does best; it's tough for music to actually get me genuinely pumped but those songs do it for me.
My singular gripe with is album is that it's a touch too long. There are a couple blander tracks hiding in the middle that don't seem to do anything but make me long for the opening few tracks again and delay the awesome closers. I do have a personal preference for releases with lower song counts (regardless of length), as shorter, more cohesive albums almost always sit better with me. That's why I love the "Healer" / "Across the Shields" EP so much; four great tracks and that's all you need. Here, maybe cut "Roaming" and "Skin Moth" for a nice, more cohesive little half-hour package. Perfect.
Really though, there's not much here to be critical about. Sure, maybe Harmonicraft doesn't live up to my rose-colored-glasses standard Meanderthal set. So what? It's still good, I still enjoy it, and that's all that matters.
(A high 7. Might go up one day.)
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