Song Premiere: Liz Longley, “Torture”
Science has proven that human touch is a necessary component of a healthy life. A long, genuine embrace sparks a release of oxytocin which lowers cortisol and, thereby, stress levels, while holding hands reduces anxiety. Study after study, experience after experience shows these things to be true. And then there are effects from the more intimate forms of physical contact.
“Torture,” the slinky new track from singer/songwriter Liz Longley, comes at her yearning from that direction and from her upcoming album, Funeral for My Past. “This is a song about being so in love with someone that it’s torture to be apart,” Longley explains. “It’s taken on a whole new meaning in this time of quarantining, when some are forced to be separated from the one they love.”
Over a lushly sensuous soundscape that wouldn’t be out of place in a David Lynch film, Longley yearns for her lover while the strings tease, the guitar flourishes, and the bass steps around her. Though it’s not a space we’ve heard her occupy previously, Longley’s incredibly versatile voice feels right at home in this velvet lounge of a sonic setting created by producer Paul Moak and a wonderful band of players that includes guitarist Kris Donegan, drummer Fred Eltringham, and bassist Tony Lucido.
And, yes, given the current world conditions, the opening line of “Being without you is being locked in a room” takes on a whole new level of longing. Luckily for listeners, Longley turns that ache into something truly beautiful.
Funeral for My Past is available for pre-order now – HERE.
Upcoming tour dates (subject to change)
April 23 — Shut In & Sing Live Stream — StageIt.com
May 28-30 — Pat McGee’s Down the Hatch — Kill Devil Hills, NC
June 4 — Bull Run — Shirley, MA
June 5 — Spire Center for Performing Arts — Plymouth, MA
June 7 — Tupelo Music Hall — Derry, NH
June 20 — Busby Cellars — Somerset, CA
June 28 — Eddie’s Attic — Decatur, GA
August 6 — Rockwood Stage 2 — New York, NY
August 21 — 8.22 — Sea Leaf — Kitty Hawk, NC
August 26 — Old Church — Portland, OR
August 30 – September 5 — Acoustic Alaska Guitar Camp — Wasilla, AK
September 18 & 20 — Opelika Songwriters Fest — Opelika, AL
September 27 — Jammin’ Java — Vienna, VA
October 22 — Natalie’s — Worthington, OH
October 23 — Garfield House Concerts — Northville, MI
October 24 — 20 Front Street — Lake Orion, MI
October 25 — Seven Steps Up — Spring Lake, MI
October 26 — Space — Chicago, IL
October 29 — Babeville— Buffalo, NY
October 30 — Timber House — Victor, NY
November 7 — Northwest Park Nature Center — Windsor, CT
