Touch (Tortoise album)

Touch
Studio album by
Tortoise
ReleasedOctober 24, 2025 (2025-10-24)
Studios
GenrePost-rock
Length38:53
Labels
Tortoise chronology
The Catastrophist
(2016)		 Touch
(2025)
Singles from Touch
  1. "Oganesson"
    Released: March 27, 2025[2]

Touch is the eighth studio album by American post-rock band Tortoise. It was released on October 24, 2025, through International Anthem Recording Company and Nonesuch Records.[3][4] It received universal acclaim from critics.[5]

Background

Tortoise consists of Dan Bitney, John Herndon, Douglas McCombs, John McEntire, and Jeff Parker.[3] Touch is a follow-up to The Catastrophist (2016).[6] It was recorded between the three cities where the band's members live: Los Angeles, California; Portland, Oregon; and Chicago, Illinois.[7] It features contributions from Marta Sofia Honer, Skip VonKuske, and Tucker Martine.[8]

On March 27, 2025, Tortoise released "Oganesson" as the lead single from Touch.[2] On June 24, 2025, the band released Oganesson Remixes, an EP consisting of the original version of "Oganesson" and five remixes of the track by Saul Williams, Heba Kadry, Patrick Carney, Broken Social Scene, and Makaya McCraven.[9] The album was released on October 24, 2025, through International Anthem Recording Company and Nonesuch Records.[3]

Music videos were released for "Oganesson",[10] "Layered Presence",[11] "Works and Days",[12] "A Title Comes",[13] and "Rated OG".[14]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.1/10[15]
Metacritic81/100[5]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStarStar[16]
Exclaim!7/10[17]
JazzwiseStarStarStar[18]
MojoStarStarStarStar[19]
Pitchfork7.6/10[20]
PopMatters9/10[21]
Record CollectorStarStarStarStar[22]
Spectrum Culture68%[23]
UncutStarStarStarStar[24]
Under the Radar7/10[25]

According to the review aggregator Metacritic, Touch received "universal acclaim" based on a weighted average score of 81 out of 100 from 12 critic scores.[5]

Jeremy Levine of PopMatters described the album as "A cinematic record that is profoundly human and entirely spectral."[21] Heather Phares of AllMusic commented that "all of Touch reflects the curiosity that has driven Tortoise since the beginning -- and still drives them all these years later."[16] Meanwhile, Levi Dayan of The Quietus wrote, "even at its heights, Touch is always undermined by clashing musical elements, bland production and a general sense of awkwardness."[26] Eric Hill of Exclaim! stated, "If Touch were the first album by a brand new band, it would likely be judged as an unequivocal triumph — but Tortoise suffer from the burden of their iconic back catalogue."[17]

Accolades

Year-end lists for Touch
Publication List Rank Ref.
AllMusic AllMusic Best of 2025
—
Mojo The 75 Best Albums of 2025
60
PopMatters The 30 Best Rock Albums of 2025
18
Uncut Top 50 New Albums of 2025
22
The Wire Releases of the Year (2025 Rewind)
10

Track listing

All tracks are written by Tortoise.

Touch track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Vexations"5:31
2."Layered Presence"3:07
3."Works and Days"4:16
4."Elka"3:47
5."Promenade à deux"4:23
6."Axial Seamount"4:20
7."A Title Comes"3:11
8."Rated OG"1:56
9."Oganesson"3:17
10."Night Gang"5:00
Total length:38:53

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes.[1]

  • Dan Bitney – performance
  • John Herndon – performance
  • Douglas McCombs – performance
  • John McEntire – performance, recording, mixing
  • Jeff Parker – performance
  • Tucker Martine – field recordings (3)
  • Skip VonKuske – cello (5)
  • Marta Sofia Honer – viola (5)
  • Dave Cooley – mastering
  • Heather Cantrell – scorpion photography
  • Martin McEntire – scorpion sculpture
  • øjeRum – collage image
  • Jeremiah Chiu – layout, design

Charts

Chart performance for Touch
Chart (2025) Peak
position
Scottish Albums (Official Charts)[32]66
UK Album Downloads (Official Charts)[33]11
UK Independent Albums (Official Charts)[34]13

References

  1. 1 2 "Touch | Tortoise". Bandcamp. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  2. 1 2 "Oganesson | Tortoise". Bandcamp. Retrieved April 7, 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 Corcoran, Nina (September 9, 2025). "Tortoise Announce First Album in Nine Years, Share Video for New Song: Watch". Pitchfork. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  4. ↑ "Tortoise Touch Early Album Listening Events". International Anthem Recording Company. Retrieved December 10, 2025.
  5. 1 2 3 "Touch by Tortoise". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved December 10, 2025.
  6. ↑ Chelosky, Danielle (September 9, 2025). "Tortoise Announce First Album In Nine Years Touch: Hear "Layered Presence"". Stereogum. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  7. ↑ Eede, Christian (September 9, 2025). "Tortoise Reveal New Album, 'Touch'". The Quietus. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  8. ↑ Pearis, Bill (September 9, 2025). "Tortoise announce first album in 9 years, share "Layered Presence"". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  9. ↑ "Oganesson Remixes | Tortoise". Bandcamp. Retrieved April 7, 2026.
  10. ↑ "Tortoise - "Oganesson"". YouTube. March 27, 2025. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  11. ↑ "Tortoise - "Layered Presence" (film by Mikel Patrick Avery)". YouTube. September 9, 2025. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  12. ↑ "Tortoise - "Works and Days" (film by Alee Peoples)". YouTube. September 30, 2025. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  13. ↑ "Tortoise - "A Title Comes" (video by Nespy5euro)". YouTube. October 24, 2025. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  14. ↑ "Tortoise - "Rated OG" (animation by Selina Trepp)". YouTube. November 11, 2025. Retrieved April 7, 2026.
  15. ↑ "Touch by Tortoise reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved March 23, 2026.
  16. 1 2 Phares, Heather. "Touch - Tortoise". AllMusic. Retrieved December 10, 2025.
  17. 1 2 Hill, Eric (October 23, 2025). "Tortoise Continue Shaping Post-Rock's Future with 'Touch'". Exclaim!. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  18. ↑ Hasted, Nick (November 2025). "Tortoise: Touch". Jazzwise. Retrieved April 7, 2026.
  19. ↑ Currin, Grayson Haver (December 2025). "Mojo Filter". Mojo. No. 385. p. 85.
  20. ↑ Hermes, Will (October 20, 2025). "Tortoise: Touch". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 10, 2025.
  21. 1 2 Levine, Jeremy (November 11, 2025). "Tortoise: Touch". PopMatters. Retrieved December 10, 2025.
  22. ↑ Moores, JR (December 2025). "Reviews". Record Collector. No. 577. p. 103.
  23. ↑ Hazelwood, Holly (November 6, 2025). "Tortoise: Touch". Spectrum Culture. Retrieved April 7, 2026.
  24. ↑ Deusner, Stephen (October 27, 2025). "Tortoise's Touch reviewed: welcome return for Chicago's post-rock pioneers". Uncut. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  25. ↑ McLean, Callum (November 12, 2025). "Tortoise: Touch (International Anthem/Nonesuch)". Under the Radar. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  26. ↑ Dayan, Levi (October 22, 2025). "Tortoise – Touch". The Quietus. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  27. ↑ "AllMusic Best of 2025 | AllMusic 2025 in Review". AllMusic. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  28. ↑ "The 75 Best Albums of 2025". Mojo. No. 386. January 2026. pp. 50–61.
  29. ↑ "The 30 Best Rock Albums of 2025 (page 2 of 3)". PopMatters. December 5, 2025. Retrieved March 4, 2026.
  30. ↑ "Uncut's Top 50 new albums of 2025". Uncut. December 23, 2025. Retrieved April 7, 2026.
  31. ↑ "Releases of the Year". The Wire. No. 503. January 2026. pp. 54–59.
  32. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart on 31/10/2025 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  33. ↑ "Official Album Downloads Chart on 31/10/2025 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  34. ↑ "Official Independent Albums Chart on 31/10/2025 – Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 18, 2026.

Further reading

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