Torres: What An Enormous Room review – a confident declaration of rock-star ambition | Music
Beyond making an early case for 2024’s best title, What An Enormous Room finds Torres approaching full rock star mode and making a confident declaration of ambition. “The me of yesterday hadn’t a clue!” she proclaims on the opener to her sixth album over a marching, metallic guitar riff. “Babe, my star’s just on the rise.”
It has been a decade since the indie rock musician (real name Mackenzie Scott) released her self-titled debut of hushed, blazingly vulnerable songs. She’s since embraced grander theatrics, a wider sonic palette and the ferocity in her deep, commanding voice. Recent single and noirish revenge fantasy Collect flexes all of that power. “Did I hit a nerve?” she demands of her pitiable foe, over stabbing piano chords and furious, squealing distortion. On Wake to Flowers she reaps the rewards of this self-confidence, basking with her lover in the morning light. The drums kick in, along with a bassy guitar line, and the song erupts into bold, grateful euphoria: “Is this my life? I’m surprised, I’m surprised!”
Against such decisive singles, many of the record’s softer tracks – such as the murky Artificial Limits – feel uncharacteristically cautious. Surprising, given that Torres’s versatility is usually her strength: Jerk Into Joy is oddly staid despite its moving narrative. What An Enormous Room doesn’t yet fulfil Torres’s stadium-sized promises, but form and ambition align on album highlight I Got the Fear. Powerfully claustrophobic, this whispered ballad about battling sudden panic could hold any room enthralled.
Beyond making an early case for 2024’s best title, What An Enormous Room finds Torres approaching full rock star mode and making a confident declaration of ambition. “The me of yesterday hadn’t a clue!” she proclaims on the opener to her sixth album over a marching, metallic guitar riff. “Babe, my star’s just on the rise.”
It has been a decade since the indie rock musician (real name Mackenzie Scott) released her self-titled debut of hushed, blazingly vulnerable songs. She’s since embraced grander theatrics, a wider sonic palette and the ferocity in her deep, commanding voice. Recent single and noirish revenge fantasy Collect flexes all of that power. “Did I hit a nerve?” she demands of her pitiable foe, over stabbing piano chords and furious, squealing distortion. On Wake to Flowers she reaps the rewards of this self-confidence, basking with her lover in the morning light. The drums kick in, along with a bassy guitar line, and the song erupts into bold, grateful euphoria: “Is this my life? I’m surprised, I’m surprised!”
Against such decisive singles, many of the record’s softer tracks – such as the murky Artificial Limits – feel uncharacteristically cautious. Surprising, given that Torres’s versatility is usually her strength: Jerk Into Joy is oddly staid despite its moving narrative. What An Enormous Room doesn’t yet fulfil Torres’s stadium-sized promises, but form and ambition align on album highlight I Got the Fear. Powerfully claustrophobic, this whispered ballad about battling sudden panic could hold any room enthralled.
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