Photo: Shervin Lainez

Torres returns with purpose on “Don’t Go Puttin Wishes In My Head”, from her new album

Mackenzie Scott aka Torres just released her fourth album Silver Tongue early last year, but she’s already setting to release her fifth, which is called Thirstier, on July 30. Speaking on the impetus and themes, she says:

 “I’ve been conjuring this deep, deep joy that I honestly didn’t feel for most of my life. I feel like a rock within myself. And I’ve started to feel that I have what it takes to help other people conjure their joy, tooI wanted to channel my intensity into something that felt positive and constructive, as opposed to being intense in a destructive or eviscerating way. I love the idea that intensity can actually be something life-saving or something joyous.”

That overflowing of positivity is certainly audible in lead single “Don’t Go Puttin Wishes In My Head”, which has a beautiful clash between the wind-tunnel guitars and Torres’ hesitant optimism. Over a synth chug she welcomes us in with her powerful voice and singular imagery, placing us firmly in her palm. The song is peppered with foreboding that she attempts to overcome with positivity, and overall her guitar wins out, builds “Don’t Go Puttin Wishes In My Head” into a War On Drugs-esque rocker, primed for a long drive under the hot sun, wind wildly tousling our hair.

Torres’ new album Thirstier arrives on July 30 through Merge (pre-order/save). You can find her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.