New York City and Liverpool-bred post-punk-rock trio Torture and The Desert Spiders have released a new single, “Working On Myself.”
The pop-laced, garage-rock track is a young musician’s plea for grace for the kids figuring life out. An asserting, repeating chorus is bolstered by raw sentiments of experiences working in music: “I got numbers! And contacts! / And no one to commit / And at the end of all this nonsense / I’m still spinning on a spit.”
“The song is about trying to be better, and the entire world seemingly working against you,” frontwoman Anna Kunz (aka Torture) says of the track. “It’s stupid and funny to me, about the grey area where you’re trying to be this better person, but one step forward means two steps back.”
It’s guitar-driven, brutally honest, beautifully produced, of experience – and overall, telling of what more is to come from Torture and the band, who’ve been a unit since 2019. Stay tuned for the song’s accompanying music video, out later this month.
The project, helmed by frontwoman and local NYC music community figurehead Torture, has kept busy this year working on a debut album and with frequent performances at bars and venues across Manhattan and Brooklyn. “Working On Myself” is the first release off the forthcoming record and from the band this year.
Three singles were released by TDS in 2024: “Blood on the Reef,” “interlude 2,” and “Small Robberies.”
Next week, Torture and the band are slated to play their biggest show ever, supporting Telescreens on Saturday, Sept. 13, at Webster Hall. Tickets are still available.
You can also catch Torture every Tuesday at her Baker Falls residency – deemed “Torture Tuesday” by the local kids – where she’s been performing and booking a unique variety show, including the best of local talent, musicians, and writers, and some touring musician friends, for intimate, yet rockin’ sets, typically with a kooky dress-up theme, for over 35 weeks.