Moreso than some of her peers, Torres Mackenzie Scott makes the mood of each album distinct from what came before. While it would have been nice to spend more time basking in the enthusiastic contentment and commitment of Thirstier, its not surprising that she moved on from it. On What an Enormous Room, she blends hope and fear as ably as she mashes up grunge, folk, and electronic pop on her bracingly honest meditations about happily ever afters aftermath. Doubt creeps into every track, whether Scott distances herself from her partner on the stalking strut of "Happy Mans Shoes" or gives domestic bliss an uneasy undercurrent on "Wake to Flowers" with a jabbing bassline and declarations of love that twist into questions. She depicts her turbulent emotions vividly, swinging from thrilled to terrified on the chugging, squalling "Life as We Dont Know It," one of several songs that uses being lost at sea as a metaphor (later, she worries her partner will "jump ship" on "Ugly Mystery" and finds liberation in her dreams of a capsizing boat on "Artificial Limitations"). As complex as the moods and situations on What an Enormous Room get, they always sound gripping. "Even what is only real in my head destroys me," Scott murmurs on "I Got the Fear" while the heavy beats behind her deliver a visceral impact. Her knack for dark pop is at its peak on "Collect," a stomping revenge fantasy that falls somewhere between Garbage and Alanis Morissette, but when she eventually finds her way back to choosing happiness even when "plans go south" on the beaming "Jerk Into Joy," it might sound even sweeter than it did on Thirstier. She closes the album by opening it wide with "Songbird Forever," an airy piano meditation that almost disguises its ambivalence ("you and me/you own me") with its serene ambience. Thirstiers anthems of devotion might be more immediately gratifying, but the eloquent expressions of loves uncomfortable and uncertain parts that fill What an Enormous Room are a testament to Torres insatiable need to seek out emotional truths. ~ Heather Phares

Rovi