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Torres (musician)

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Torres
Scott performing in 2014
Scott performing in 2014
Background information
Birth nameMackenzie Ruth Scott
Born (1991-01-23) January 23, 1991 (age 33)
Orlando, Florida, US
GenresIndie rock
OccupationSinger-songwriter
Years active2012–present
Labels
Spouse
​
(m. 2022)​

Mackenzie Ruth Scott (born January 23, 1991), known professionally as Torres, is an American indie rock singer-songwriter.

Early life and education

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Scott was born in Orlando, Florida, and adopted at birth. From the age of three, she was raised in Macon, Georgia.

Brought up in a conservative Christian home, Scott was the youngest of three. At an early age, she learned how to play the flute and piano and sang in the children's choir at her Baptist church. Through The Phantom of the Opera, Scott soon became interested in musical theatre. She started singing in her high school's musical production of Fiddler on the Roof. She began to perform in musicals, learned to play guitar, and started playing and singing hymns during church services and at a nursing home every week.[1][2]

After high school, Scott moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to attend Belmont University, where she received a degree in songwriting and a minor in English literature. In college, Scott began to record her music. She graduated in December 2012.

Career

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Torres (2012–2014)

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In July 2012, while still a student, Scott recorded her debut album Torres over a five-day session at Tony Joe White's home studio in Franklin, Tennessee, with engineer and producer Ryan McFadden.[3] Following the album's release on February 8, 2013, she played her debut show as Torres in Nashville at The Basement.[4] The album was digitally released on January 22, 2013, and received critical acclaim.[5] In summer 2013, she moved to Bushwick, Brooklyn.[2]

Scott has toured extensively in the U.S. and Europe with a wide variety of musicians, including Lady Lamb the Beekeeper, Okkervil River, Sharon Van Etten, and Hamilton Leithauser. She appeared as a guest on Van Etten's 2014 album Are We There and released a single, "New Skin", through Weathervane Music in June 2014.[6][7]

Sprinter (2015–2016)

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Scott released her second album Sprinter on May 5, 2015, through Partisan Records. Unlike Torres, which was produced in Nashville, Sprinter was recorded in Dorset, England and produced by Rob Ellis. Scott described Sprinter as "something that would feel massive and heavy" with electronic elements, deliberate guitars and languid arrangements.[8]

She toured the U.S. and Europe as a headliner for this album. She also opened for Garbage and Brandi Carlile, her early musical idol, in 2015, and joined Tegan and Sara for their November 2016 tour.

Three Futures (2017)

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Scott's third album Three Futures was released on September 29, 2017. It was once again produced by Rob Ellis. Production started in Stockport, England, and was completed in the same Dorset studio where she worked on Sprinter. Three Futures takes inspiration from electropop, gothic industrial, and Krautrock. Scott also contributed a cover version of "Until I Die" to the Brandi Carlile charity compilation album Cover Stories.[9]

Silver Tongue (2020)

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Scott's fourth studio album Silver Tongue was released on January 31, 2020, via Merge Records.[10] Pitchfork gave it a positive review saying "Tongue is both her most intimate and eclectic album thus far".[11] "Dressing America" was selected as "Song of the Day" by Kevin Cole, the host of The Afternoon Show on KEXP-FM.[12]

Thirstier (2021)

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Scott's fifth album, Thirstier, was released on July 30, 2021.[13]

What an Enormous Room (2024)

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Scott's sixth album, What an Enormous Room, was released on January 26, 2024.[14]

Influences

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From a young age, Scott has been influenced by Broadway theatre. Her live performances are known to be very dramatic, and she believes this stems from her early experiences with musical theater. Scott has cited Brandi Carlile and Fleetwood Mac as major influences on her style. She writes poetry and short stories, and she has listed her favorite author as Sylvia Plath, who has inspired many of her works.

Critical reception

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Her self-titled album Torres received favorable reviews from Beats Per Minute, Pitchfork, and Metacritic. Music website Pitchfork Media named Torres's debut single, "Honey", best new track, describing it as "an arena-rock moment happening on an empty stage […] with its slow-burn intensity and coiled energy".[15] Following the release of the album, Pitchfork gave the debut album an 8.1 rating calling the record "an overwhelming rush of feeling […] that connects with throat-seizing immediacy".[16]

Torres' second album also received many positive reviews. On Metacritic, the album has a score of 81 out of 100, indicating "Universal acclaim".[17] Consequence of Sound praised that Scott's lyrics, "writes with the courage of someone much older. She is already willing to bear the wisdom and insight that comes from her Southern Baptist roots—and from leaving them behind"[18] and gave the album an A−. Pitchfork also praised the album writing "When Scott can find the right balance of these elements—dark, introspective, mid-tempo, highly distorted, and in the four to five-minute range—she hits a sweet spot, like on 'New Skin' and the album's title track".[19]

Torres' third album Three Futures, released on September 29, 2017, was met with positive reviews. Rolling Stone gave the album 3.5 out of 5 stars. The Rolling Stone describes the album as "offering conflicted images of emotional and physical release over bracing industrial-rock textures".[20] The AV Club also praised Three Futures describing it as "hazily fascinating, flowing naturally through its various peaks and valleys, and it succeeds in Scott's goal of being truly immersive listening", while rating the album an A−.[21] Consequence of Sound gave the album a B+, describing Scott's ability to pursue new musical directions "with poise and confidence…"[22] DIY also awarded Three Futures 4 out of 5 stars and noted Scott takes a step forward without forgetting what made her previous albums successful, by venturing into "previously little-trodden ground in sumptuous new ways".[23]

Personal life

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In 2017, Scott met American painter Jenna Gribbon at a bar in the East Village,[24] and by 2019, they had moved into a "live-work space" in Bushwick, Brooklyn together.[25] She describes an experience of meeting Gribbon in a dream before they met in person.[26] Gribbon proposed to Scott in October 2020,[27] and they married in November 2022.[24][28]

On May 1, 2021, Scott came out as non-binary.[29]

Discography

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Studio albums

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Live albums

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  • Live in Berlin (2020)

Other releases

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Singles

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  • "Good Scare" (2020)
  • "Gracious Day" (2020)

References

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  1. ^ "Native | June 2013 | Nashville, TN". Issuu.com. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Interview: TORRES Talks Songwriting, Literature, and Her Love for Johnny Cash". Pigeonsandplanes.com. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  3. ^ "Interview: Torres Talks Poetry, Live Shows, and Her Experience As A Music Student". Inyourspeakers Media. August 7, 2015. Archived from the original on July 1, 2017. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  4. ^ "Torres w/BF/GF Sex and Catfish at The Basement, 2/8/13". Nashville Scene. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  5. ^ "Torres, Torres [Review]". Nashville Scene. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  6. ^ Battan, Carrie (May 6, 2013). "Torres Touring With Lady Lamb the Beekeeper". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  7. ^ "Sharon Van Etten to release new album 'Are We There?' in May". NME. January 17, 2014. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  8. ^ "Meet Torres: The True Confessions of Mackenzie Scott". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  9. ^ "Torres discusses covering Brandi Carlile's "Until I Die" for new charity compilation". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  10. ^ Bloom, Madison (October 29, 2019). "TORRES Announces New Album Silver Tongue, Shares New Song "Good Scare": Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  11. ^ Copperman, Joshua (February 3, 2020). "Torres: Silver Tongue Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
  12. ^ "Podcasts". Kexp.org. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
  13. ^ "Torres - "Thirstier"". Stereogum.com. July 14, 2021. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  14. ^ "Torres Announces New Album 'What an enormous room': Listen To "Collect"". Stereogum. October 3, 2023. Retrieved October 6, 2023.
  15. ^ ""Honey" by TORRES Review | Pitchfork". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  16. ^ "Torres: Torres Album Review | Pitchfork". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  17. ^ Sprinter by Torres, retrieved October 10, 2017
  18. ^ "Album Review: Torres – Sprinter". Consequence of Sound. April 30, 2015. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  19. ^ "Torres: Sprinter Album Review | Pitchfork". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  20. ^ "Review: Torres Sings Unsparing Meditations on Desire on Latest LP". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  21. ^ Williams, Matt. "Torres' Three Futures is a deeply sensual affair". The A.V. Club. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  22. ^ "Album Review: Torres – Three Futures". Consequence of Sound. September 26, 2017. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  23. ^ "Torres - Three Futures". Diymag.com. September 29, 2017. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  24. ^ a b Kazanjian, Dodie (November 15, 2022). "Jenna Gribbon's Pursuit of Pleasure in Queer Portraiture". Vogue. Condé Nast. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  25. ^ Cite error: The named reference :6 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  26. ^ "Torres - Full Performance (Live on KEXP)". YouTube. KEXP. October 15, 2021.
  27. ^ Madden, Emma (July 30, 2021). "How TORRES and Jenna Gribbon Became Each Other's Muses". Them. Condé Nast. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  28. ^ King-Clements, Eloise (November 17, 2023). "Painter Jenna Gribbon Is Still in Her Honeymoon Phase". Interview. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  29. ^ Scott, Mackenzie [@torreslovesyou] (May 1, 2021). "I am nonbinary" (Tweet). Archived from the original on May 2, 2021. Retrieved November 10, 2021 – via Twitter.
  30. ^ "TORRES - Until I Die (From Cover Stories: Brandi Carlile Celebrates The Story) [Audio]". YouTube. May 5, 2017. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
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