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May 23, 2022 By Caleb Campbell

Liverpool-based band Torture & The Desert Spiders is a rising project from singer/songwriter Anna Kunz, also known simply as Torture. Joined by collaborators Clara Cicely and Max Meunier, the band crafts left-field garage rock, united by Torture’s captivating vocals and dense and nervy guitars. With a few singles already out in the world, the band returned earlier this year with their latest effort, “Sinéad I’m Afraid,” and today they’ve shared the song’s accompanying video, premiering with Under the Radar.

If their name wasn’t already confirmation that Torture & The Desert Spiders have a flair for the dramatic, “Sinéad I’m Afraid” leaves no doubt. The track opens in a tense and cinematic atmosphere, punctuated by a smoky trumpet solo, evoking the tone of an old-school film noir before the track dives into its tightly wound garage rock stylings. In abstract lyricism, Torture traces a night filled with anxiety and looming fear, as her vocals are encircled in a layered swirl of gnarled guitars and jittery instrumental dramatics.

Meanwhile, the accompanying video follows a heated fever dream inspired by David Lynch and a similar sense of lurking menace. As Torture explains, “‘Sinéad, I’m Afraid’ was written about a house party I went to in Knoxville, TN, where a bunch of guys pulled out guns so I stayed in a bathroom listening to Sinéad O’Connor till the sun came up ‘n I could sneak out. It is also written with the sort of tongue-in-cheek visuals that are inspired by my everyday life here in Liverpool, UK. The video is heavily inspired by the bands’ collective love of David Lynch and cult films as well as a sort of camp-ness that we grew up around. The actual house visuals are a re-make of the party I attended and the additional scenes are sort-of fever dreams that we thought would accompany the chaotic situation well.”

Check out the song and video below. Listen to more from Torture & The Desert Spiders here.