Torche - Torche

In a surprise answer to that age old question that nobody ever thought of until now: "would Iron Monkey be any good as a pop band?", Torche demonstrate that yes, yes they could, and combine the monstrous post-Sabbath riff sound that has seen Melvins and Kyuss fare so well with added glorious pop vocals somewhere between the Beach Boys and neo-new new romantic stylings - although they definitely lean toward the foppish. This debut album sounds almost mathematically calculated to sit alongside The Cure et al on the first Crow soundtrack. It's not always as good as it sounds on paper though: the vocals often fail to manage their intended grandeur and sometimes the riffing strays away from monolithic heaviness and veers slightly toward mini-mosher mallrat fodder, but there's enough of interest here for any fans of Ipecac-esques. [Ali Maloney]