Photo by Miguel Gutierrez, Jr.
Part of the fun of being a music fan is finding the undiscovered–those diamonds in the rough that for some reason or another got buried years ago. Adam Torres’ music career follows this strange trajectory. As a student at Ohio University, Torres developed a following through his band Southeast Engine and his own solo music. In 2006, he released Nostra Nova, a quietly haunting album punctuated by both orchestral flourishes and distorted guitars.
The record didn’t make much of a dent, and Torres largely stopped releasing music, save for some even starker demos. He traveled away from Ohio, first spending a year in Ecuador before settling in Austin to pursue a graduate degree. All the while, Nostra Nova built a bit of buzz. Almost a decade later, Misra Records is reissuing the album in the hopes it can find a new generation of fans. The songs seem tailor-made for the kind of cult following Torres has; hushed and intimate, they sound like they should be passed from friend to friend. “Nick Drake crossed with Guided By Voices” nails it on the head: there’s a DIY roughness to Torres’ music, but also some real beauty there, like in “Rosemarie.” Take a listen and download the song below, and catch Adam Torres at the Cactus Cafe tonight. Doors at 8 p.m.
–Art Levy
