Heavy sounds by a heavy soul

Torres starts a new year and a new decade signing with a new label, Merge Records. Silver Tongue is also her first self-produced album and people will see a lot of changes for the singer-songwriter. Her sound is refreshing, her voice is captivating. Silver Tongue captures the audience with its darkness, changing beats and styles. It is an album to listen to when angry, sad or melancholic. Every song has mature lyrics that show personal conflict and displays true emotion. Torres previously released “Gracious Day” and “Good Scare,” both impactful love songs.

The album also starts with “Good Scare.” It’s about the scary feeling of being in love during the start of a relationship when everything is uncertain. The lyrics combined with her deep, melancholic voice invite listeners to think while listening. Note, flashbacks of old relationships may occur. “When you start eyeing all the exits” is one of the most relatable lines of the song.

“Last Forest” and its static sound starts slow and rather soft until the song and Torres’s voice seemingly explode. The beat gets more intense and her rather melodic voice gets dark and almost violent. The song is definitely one of the highlights of Silver Tongue. While listening to it the first time. the sudden mood change even comes as a surprise. On the other hand, Torres gets a little softer and happier in “Dressing America.” The song features some ’80s elements, but the guitar is in the focus. Torres manages to give a floating-like feeling to her audience with this song.

“Records of Your Tenderness” is another highlight on an exaptational album. Torres proves that she is an amazing singer and a great producer. Starting off slow, the song intensifies quickly with futuristic beats mixed with heavy bass. The whole song is very consuming and keeps the attention of the listener right from the start until the last note fades away. “Two of Everything” shows the emotional depth of Torres once again. She emotionally delivers the painful experience of knowing a partner is seeing other people, maybe even being the other person. It’s an intense and powerful song.

With “Good Grief,” Torres delivers one of the catchiest choruses on the album: “good grief baby, there is no such thing.” The lyrics are accompanied by heavy guitar riffs that are perfectly in sync with Torres’ voice. While “Good Grief” takes on a loud, heavy tone. “A Few Blue Flowers” is soft and sensible. It’s easy to get lost in thought while listening.

“Gracious Day” is possibly the most optimistic song on the album. It’s a love song through and through. The lyrics about spending a life with the right partner are sweet and again, very relatable. The song displays the hope and excitement of a relationship that just reached a whole new, better level. Because Torres is so personal and intimate, it almost makes the audience feel happy for her and her relationship. Silver Tongue ends with the title track “Silver Tongue.” The futuristic pop sound and her echoing voice make it a good song to finish the album.

Overall, Silver Tongue is an exciting new album. Torres shows her many talents and superb songwriting. The album never gets boring and it almost feels too short, but that’s also the charm of it. Because of the wide range of emotions the album provides, it is relatable on many levels. Silver Tongue also doesn’t lack highlights, due to the amazing sounds and beats throughout the album.