The last we heard of Byron Bay band Tora was around a fortnight ago with the dancey, multi-textural track ‘Empyrean’. It was another of a string of releases signalling the approach of their debut album, Take A Rest, which just so happens to be out now. One of many skillfully woven, indie-electronic tracks to complete Tora’s first LP is ‘Love Life’, so called probably due to lead singer Joe Lewenthall's soulful falsetto trilling in the song’s title within the first thirty seconds. It’s a sit-up-and-listen moment, but then we’re set back down again into a luscious bed of quirky synths, bass whomps, retro keys, and well-chosen vocal snippets. The track swings between this hazy, intricately sampled refrain and the soulful honesty of the guitar-backed line, “Oh, you got complacent, I’ve got nothing to make up for.” It’s tricky to lay a direct finger on Tora’s sound, especially as each track is so different from each other, but also because within songs like ‘Love Life’ we can hear elements of funk, dance, soul, pop, indie-rock, alternative electronica and so on. For now, let’s just call them texturists and vibe along to their special first album. - HT