Thomas Torrey

“This Slight Momentary Affliction”

Braille Records

12 tracks @ 55:59

Grade = A

            Thomas Torrey describes himself as a multimedia artist.  The songs on his debut have been written over the last six years.

            It is worth the effort to track this record down.  Musically, it is not over-produced.  Lyrically there is no doubt where Torrey is coming from.

            “The God of Jacob is Our King” begins as a simple, yet effective chant.  “The Definition of Praise” is a wonderful tour de force, moving from rap to acoustic and it works.

            I detected hints of a McCartney-esque bass, U2 and delirious?  I asked Torrey about his musical influences and this is what he told me via an email reply;

            “My influences come from the Euro-rock bands of the '90s (and, I guess, of today), such as U2, Radiohead, David Gray, James, Coldplay. Specifically, the tracks on the album were influenced (in both writing and production) from a wide range of artists including Ben Harper, U2, David Gray, Luxury, Beck.

“Producer Uly Millan brought in his own influences which greatly added to the mix of sound. One can hear elements of Queen, Prince, Jimi Hendrix, Dave Matthews, the Mamas and the Papas, and even Christina Agulera throughout the record.

“At the end of the day, though, I just love music, and every genre has quality performers. I love the best of country, blues, soul, hip hop, punk, rock, and folk. And I think, because I get a steady diet of it all, elements of all these genres come through in the record.

“Thematically, I am influenced overwhelmingly by the poetry and truth of the Scriptures, and by corporate praise and worship.”

I hope Thomas continues to record.

Rob S.

www.thomastorrey.com