5 Overlooked NYC Albums in the Mid-Year Sweep
Torn Hawk – Through Force of Will (Not Not Fun)
While his friends were getting into that one Operation Ivy record as young teens in Virginia, Luke Wyatt, the man behind Torn Hawk, was drawn to things more “textual,” he told Pitchfork in an interview earlier this year. Sonic Youth’s Dirty served as an entry point, eventually segueing into such non-traditional composers as Philip Glass and Steve Reich. This makes completes sense when listening to the nonlinear montage that is Through Force of Will. The record ripples: a bass-heavy opener with scribbly synths; warped whistles across airy soundscapes; a cheesy elevator-music sample that could’ve doubled in an Ariel Pink song if he forgot to sing. The sorta-ugly parts interlock and together become something kinda pretty. A reminder that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.