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.