Austin's TV Torso, who've already put out one of our very favorite cuts of 2012 in "No Idea Why," released a three-song EP this week featuring that track and two invigorating fresh numbers: "Clear Lake Strangler" and "Prismatic Ideation." Recorded in frontman Matt Oliver's Big Orange studio where he also tapes a multitude of Daytrotter sessions, the small but searing collection features the frontman spouting off poetry under a sea of tremolo and cranking up a heavy arsenal of brain-puddling instrumentals: swift tight strums of guitar, back-breakingly precise tornados of rhythm, and a gnarly bass synth cut and filtered into a pulsating saw. It's a dynamic hi-fi mix that's as potent in its fiercely pounding rock 'n' roll heart as it is in its thoughtful and innovative experimentation. According to Oliver, he's been big into the Stiff Records catalog ever since hearing the likes of of Nick Lowe and Rockpile in college, though he says his "output's not there yet. Always seems to wind up some place else." I'd be happy to lap up a few Stiff Records-inspired cuts—
Dirty Looks anyone?—but this far-off moon TV Torso has landed on suits me just fine. That dreamy, ethereal build and segue from "Prismatic Ideation" to "No Idea Why" is just about as perfect as contemporary rock music gets.
The EP is free on Bandcamp, but if you dig the tracks, please make sure to compensate the band.
TV Torso - "No Idea Why"
TV Torso - "Clear Lake Strangler"
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