Over the last few years, I’ve fallen out of the habit of making year end “best of” lists, but if I could still be bothered to do so, Torres‘ Sprinter would most certainly have had a spot on that list. Mackenzie Scott’s sophomore effort is a powerful collection of songs full of raw emotion that can move from a hushed, calm, almost ambient vibe to full-on rock fury, often within the span of the same song. Live, this is perhaps even more true.
Scott’s powerful voice seems like it could come unhinged at any time, with her often screaming out the lyrics for effect. Her stage banter, in contrast, is much more reserved and polite – she thanked the crowd for being attentive and I’m pretty sure she ended out her set by telling us, “You’ve been sweet.” I’m not entirely sure since I couldn’t quite hear all of her between song banter due to a group of overly loud dudes playing pool in the front room of the Horseshoe – I’m glad they were enjoying their game I suppose, but man, were they noticeably loud. Luckily, Torres can get pretty loud too.
The band sounded impressive and seemed willing to experiment a little with the arrangements – “Cowboy Guilt” in particular sounded slightly slower than the recorded version and had some added dissonant guitar noises thrown in for good measure. And while it was great to hear “Strange Hellos,” one of my favourites and kind of her big powerhouse number, the songs that followed that were even more impressive, with closing number “The Harshest Light” being the highlight of the night and a perfect example of what Torres is capable of.