Torres Talks Confronting Desire And Self-Honesty With Her New Song And Video, 'Skim'

There is, finally, new music from Torres. The Brooklyn-based artist, originally from Macon, Ga., made one of 2015's best albums, Sprinter. The new song, "Skim," packs some of the punch we heard on Sprinter, but with noticeably more room made for low-end synth alongside her signature guitar grit.

The video for "Skim," directed by Ashley Connor, is an intense and provocative look at human interaction, tackling issues of desire and control, with Mackenzie Scott — Torres — playing her guitar while hands caress her body and disappear, over and over.

We spoke while she was in Washington, D.C. last week for a show at the 9:30 Club, where Torres performed five new songs, including "Skim." I'd first heard the song and seen its video treatment just a few hours before our conversation, which took place just before Mackenzie and the band played.

"Control is the central theme song," she said at the club, as a vendor delivered large kegs of beer nearby. "The house we shot the video in represents, on one level, the subconscious, specifically the enlightened subconscious.

"It's basically about exploring all the dark corners of the mind and of the subconscious, and making sure that you're not fooling yourself, you're not hiding from yourself. There's nothing worse than being unaware of what's inside your own head, inside your own spirit. There's nothing worse, because you have to live with yourself, until you are no longer living. The video — and the song itself — is about desire."

Listen to our full conversation with the play button at the top of the page. No word yet on when the full-length followup to Sprinter, via 4AD this time out, will be released.

Copyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.