Fun Fun Fun Fest Friday Reviews

Torche

If Baroness began metaldom as Mastodon Jr., consider Torche its younger bro. While third full-length Harmonicraft doesn't boast the same master craftsmanship as Baroness' third disc Yellow & Green, the Miami quartet's indie rock crossover matches up no less seamlessly. Torche's 2008 master class, second album Meanderthal, began at prog metal and closed as a mind-blowing stoner maelstrom. Harmonicraft polishes that sonic Darwinism into tight, melodic mosh pits. Spasms of tempo and hooks fuel supercharged stomper "Walk It Off," while clustering 1990s grunge in "Reverse Inverted" hints Tripping Daisy, and "In Pieces" detonates a fuzz bomb. A merry-go-round riff and mescal vocal layering tattoos "Snakes Are Charmed," and if the disc's second half dissolves into Lollapalooza, the title track's tempestuous instrumentalism, serving as intro to the closing elbow-throwing doom of "Looking On," forgives all. (Fri., Black stage, 2:15pm)