***Received a 7.5 rating from Pitchfork. In 2006, 20-year-old ADAM TORRES released his debut album Nostra Nova. Influenced by the works of visual artist Adolf Wolfli and C.G. Jung, it’s the sound of Torres making something beautiful, with many truly breathtaking moments throughout. A DIY self-release, Nostra Nova found deep, long-lasting roots within the small Athens, OH community at the time, but didn’t resonate farther until much later. Following its release, Torres went back to college and turned his focus to other interests. But all the while, Torres never stopped playing music, writing songs, or performing. In 2011, Torres moved to Austin, TX and enrolled in graduate school at the University of Texas. Having penned more than 100 songs since 2006, in 2012 Adam quietly started releasing music through DC cassette-label DZ Tapes, which featured tape-recorded demos. In 2015, Nostra Nova saw a small reissue. Called a “cult classic” by The A.V. Club, the album finally achieved its due, earning additional praise from Stereogum, VICE, Popmatters, All Music Guide, and Flavorwire, which wrote of Torres: “…someone who was, at an early age, able to connect his own odd experiences to the concept of life itself in an almost innate way.” In many respects, that description is a good start at capturing the magic of Torres’ music. There’s a persisting theme that threads through his own story as well as his new LP, Pearls To Swine. Across the album, Torres crafts uniquely cinematic soundscapes with a distinctively southwestern feel. His style acknowledges the classic singer-songwriter tradition, allowing the rhythm sounds to support the structure of songs, while his affecting falsetto conjures the spirit of traditional vocalists such as John Jacob Niles and Robbie Basho.