One of the more memorable bands to have come from the 2010s (even though they started just prior to 2010, but whatever.) is Touchè Amorè. They’re also one of the most annoying band names to type, so I’ll keep that to a minimum. Furthermore, the name is also difficult to get the pronunciation right. For me personally I didn’t get it right until 2019. I’ve been pronouncing it wrong longer than I’ve been pronouncing it correctly. I’m not even going to clarify the correct way to say it aloud, I’ll let you go out the same way I did on that for 8 or 9 years.
With that out of the way we can get into the reason you are here, the undeniably correct rankings of Touchè Amorè’s catalog – note this is just the official full-lengths in this list, not including any splits, singles, etc.
5. Is Survived By…(2013)
Why hello there “Loveless” inspired album art, we see you there. The blue is kinda cute. Kinda sets the tone even at a glance there. That’s right, you’re in for a fair amount of delay on the guitar with this one. It’s still a good album by all means, it’s just a lot like the album that came before it. Seemingly more of a focus on sweet jingly reverbed guitar and more of a dive towards the shoegaze side of the pool. Which makes sense because when this came out you were probably still listening to a lot of Title Fight and there was a bit of that going around back then. For a third album, they’ve at least shown consistency.
Play It Again: “Anyone/Anything”
Skip It: “Non Fiction”
4. To The Beat Of A Dead Horse/ Dead Horse X (2009/2019)
This one kinda breaks the rules, but not really. “Dead Horse” was the band’s first full-length debut back in the ancient days of 2009 when you were starting to realize you didn’t quite fit into your tight pants anymore. In the more recent but still distant past of 2019, the band decided to give the album one big birthday party and re-recorded the entire thing and called it “Dead Horse X.” It’s kinda like when they remastered the first few Resident Evil games, really. This album is pretty cool, even if the smell of debut full-length clings to it. The bass is way more thumpy and prominent than anything else they’ve released, so that really stands out about it overall. Besides that, you can really tell the seeds of something cool are planted, but there’s still something missing. (The secret ingredient is that special shoegazey sauce becoming spicier on everything else they do.)
Play It Again: “Throwing Copper”
Skip It: “Suckerfish”
3. Stage Four (2016)
Do you ever get this feeling like you want to be helpful to someone? Like you’d rather be the shoulder to cry on for a change and be that person for someone? Well here’s a real treat of an album for you. Next time that feeling hits you don’t bother reaching out to see if everyone is okay or if anyone needs to talk. Everyone is fine. But right now you need to sit down and listen to everything the lead singer of Touchè Amorè has to get out. It’s gonna get intense at times, but it’s okay – you’ve got this. Luckily you’re there for him and everything is going to be okay. This album is particularly filled with the saddies, so I don’t recommend playing it at parties or near any kind of vulnerable person. But on top of all that, how about some post-rock vibes, huh? That makes it a lot easier to process the painful gut-punching lyrics being shouted at you and taking the air out of your lungs.
Play It Again: “New Halloween”
Skip It: “Skyscraper”
Honorable Mention: 10 Years / 1000 Shows: Live at the Regent Theater (2018)
This is the only one of these I’ll bother doing. Simply because part of what makes this band is their live show. They don’t hold back ever, all gas – no brakes. So might as well stick this in there because as far as live albums go, this is as good as the next good one. There are a lot of people on this recording who like to show off that they know all the words. They sound like they’re having fun, you’ll have about a 1/8th of the amount of fun they seem to be having by listening to this record.
2. Lament (2020)
More of anything? How about just more of everything? The most recent release from this band is quite the showcase of every tool in their belt. A lot of work went into this one, and it shows when you hear all 7 minutes of “Limelight” and crash right into that wall of sound. Not many albums out there have this many hooks you’ll involuntarily sing along to with a bubble in your throat while getting all teary-eyed. It’s real, it’s relatable, the guitar work is best described with a chef’s kiss. Upon first listen it might catch you completely off guard, strap you down to the arms of a chair and give you one big shot in the arm – OF EMOTION. I imagine since this one was released, pits at their shows have a fair amount of sobbing and everyone’s bottom lip is doing the quivering thing with tears in their eyes.
Play It Again: “Limelight”
Skip It: “Savoring”
1. Parting The Sea Between Brightness And Me (2011)
The second full length seems to be where the band collectively had some sort of “a-ha!” Or “eureka” moment and really figured things out. The opening track with a title being a weird little symbol “~” just jumps out at you from around the corner with an obnoxious “HEY, CHECK OUT THIS DOUBLE KICK!” And we all fall for it every time. Wanna clap? Well, you’re gonna. It’s there, and it works. If you’re looking for that sweet spot of sounding sad and angry, you’ll find it here. There was a lot of tough guy stuff coming out around this time, PTSBBAM really stood out because it’s more or less the opposite of that. To say there’s a lack of chest-thumping mentality here is an understatement. If nostalgia plays any factor, you’ll hear this and go back to the olden days of owning an iPhone 4. All of Touchè’s albums are individually great, but this one earns the badge of “Instant Classic”.
Play It Again: “Pathfinder”
Skip It: “Crutch”