Adam Torres – “High Lonesome” (Stereogum Premiere)
Adam Torres has spent the past decade volunteering in rural Ecuador, completing a graduate degree in Texas, and working to improve the water quality of the Rio Grande River — all whilst simultaneously writing hundreds of songs. While a number of those were released as demos in 2012 through DC cassette-label DZ Tapes, Torres has yet to provide a proper follow-up to his 2006 self-released debut Nostra Nova, a DIY staple in his small college town of Athens, Ohio. With a clear-headed voice that seemed to buckle under its own sincerity, Nostra Nova was immediately affecting and enduringly comforting. The album received a reissue last year from Misra records, which brought Torres greater recognition outside of Ohio and a new audience tuned in to whatever he was planning to release next.
Now Torres has signed to Fat Possum for a new LP entitled Pearls To Swine, which “maps [his] complicated history as a songwriter and musician,” and today we are premiering lead single “High Lonesome.” Torres is 10 years older than he was during the initial release of Nostra Nova, but his songwriting has hardly aged. He’s become more self-assured, and road-weary where he used to be anxious, but still sings with a vulnerability that is inviting in its generosity. “High Lonesome” is a shimmering moonlit meditation that ripples like the waves from a stone kicked into the river during a late evening stroll. “Lay me down a long shallow grave,” Torres croons under a warm backdrop of swelling violins and swaying guitars. “Lay me down the high lonesome way.” Listen below.
Pearls To Swine tracklist:
O1 “Juniper Arms”
02 “Some Beast Will Find You By Name”
03 “High Lonesome”
04 “Morning Rain”
05 “Daydream”
06 “Outlands”
07 “Where Im Calling From”
08 “Mountain River”
09 “City Limits”
Pearls To Swine is out 9/9 via Fat Possum. Pre-order it here.
