“In this long journey of music, you want to evolve, and that’s why we came back … We knew the challenge was good for us; where there’s passion, there’s something worth doing.”
Change is a strange thing. Even in the event that we’re assured it’s for the very best of causes, it is always hard. Californian post-hardcorists, TOUCHE AMORE, are no strangers to this notion nor the emotional fortitude required to face the challenge. Their pursuits of passion to this point are numerous and, come October 11, will evolve once more with the release of the sixth studio album, Spiral in a Straight Line.
The first release for the band since signing with RISE RECORDS, Spiral is simultaneously an example of growth on the part of the band and in keeping with their trademarked ‘emotional frankness’, which never fails to communicate an air of optimism in the face of life’s greatest tragedies. Electing the infamous ROSS ROBINSON to produce once more, building upon the ‘masterstroke’ of 2020’s Lament has seen the LA-based group draw upon even deeper wells of emotion to create Spiral in a Straight Line.
Two singles released in anticipation, the lead Nobody’s in July followed by Hal Ashby in September, significant hype has already been established. A feeling cemented by the duo’s inclusion in the tertiary three tracks on the full album, separated by Disasters only by name, this is a record moving ‘in forward direction’ with regard to the sound and its creators. As indefatigable in their work ethic as their unorthodox producer, TOUCHE AMORE have been rewarded for their risk, faith in one another and the meeting the mettle of life’s processes.
A ‘statement of intent’ in triplicate, the trio demonstrate the best of the band. A fast-paced instrumental outfit, tight in time with one another, JEREMY BOLM’s gravelly screams and spoken word poetry is again a standout. The resonance of emotions, communicating equally the mundane and the deepest, most painful of life’s experiences, Force of Habit and the track from which the band garner their album title, Altitude, are also, reaching into the human psyche.
Continuing on unabated, the two collaborative tracks of the album are staggeringly sublime. The first, in the third-last track Subversion (Brand New Love), featuring the iconic LOU BARLOW (DINOSAUR JR., SEBODOH & THE FOLK IMPLOSION) is equally a duet and a tale of two cities. Held together by the proverbial and literal, The Glue binds this to the next and aptly-named final track, Goodbye for Now, featuring BOYGENIUS’s JULIEN BAKER. The haunting contrast between vocalists is an emotive and perfectly fitting conclusion.
Spiral in a Straight Line is an undeniable extension of the cohesion and vulnerability TOUCHE AMORE are renowned for. Steeped in the human experience, compassionate to each of our own interpretations, there is a universality to how this band speaks. No stranger to accolades for this unique adaptability, there’s no doubt that we, along with they, will find in this album ‘new ways to sing praise’ in reception to this beautifully evolved record.
