“On her second album as Torres, Brooklyn-via-Nashville singer-songwriter Mackenzie Scott shrouds her voice with feedback and heavier rock instrumentation, created alongside PJ Harvey producer and percussionist Rob Ellis. The sound is like a gauze bandage covering emotional wounds, but Scott lets the red bleed through nonetheless.”
“Singer-guitarist Torres’ 2015 breakout, Sprinter, was a stirring study in spiritual reckoning. Her latest is even more raw, offering conflicted images of emotional and physical release over bracing industrial-rock textures co-produced by Rob Ellis (PJ Harvey). The harsh, predatory “Skim” spools through questions like “Did he hold your hips with authority?” as if weaponizing betrayal, and on “Three”
“Sprinter comes out strong with some great singles, but loses steam fast in its second third.”
