Torres
This remarkable debut by 21-year-old Torres—a.k.a. Mackenzie Scott—is an intimate, spare collection. Yet it exudes a surprisingly emotional wallop, like an otherwise silent skeleton in the proverbial closet. Based in Nashville, Scott easily stands apart. She paints stories with whispered despair, murmured confessionals, and raw, straight-to-the-core declarations using little more than guitar and her unusual voice: powerful, taut, and fragile all at once. Repeating and building phrases into shattering codas, dropping from a howl to broken moan in a swoop, extending one syllable into a raft of notes, Scott\'s constructs and singing style are a beautiful match for her marvelous lyrical dexterity. \"This skin hangs on me like a lampshade/keeping all my light at bay,\" she sings hauntingly on \"November Baby,\" fingerpicking her Gibson. \"Your crooked smile/your gap teeth/your widow\'s peak.\" She exhales a litany of things she misses so deeply her longing is palpable. Lulling ballads are faintly adorned with strings, distorted keyboard notes, and wisps of percussion throughout this lovely piece of work.
Pre-order limited edition LP in BLUE on Diggers Factory bit.ly/blue-LP I would like to extend my gratitude to: My family and friends, each musician who helped bring this record to fruition, Ryan McFadden, Chris DePorter, Bobby Herb, Bobby Chase, Natalie Royal, Melodie Morris, Natalie Prass, Jordan Williams, Drew Ramsey, The Hart Family, Little Bat, Macon, Nashville, and all my Muses. With Love, Mackenzie Songs and lyrics by Mackenzie Scott © 2012 BMI
Mackenzie Scott's voice conveys raw, urgent desperation. Veering between rangy indie rock and hushed folk, the 22-year old Nashville vocalist and guitarist's self-recorded debut conjures the hypnotic hurt of the earliest, best Songs:Ohia or Cat Power.
<p>Singer-songwriter Torres's understated rock is engaging if frustrating, writes <strong>Kitty Empire</strong></p>
Nasville-based Mackenzie Scott's stark confessionals sound like the first flowerings of a major new talent, writes <strong>Dave Simpson</strong>