Little Teeth is a new band fronted by Arliss Nancy's Cory Call. A few years ago Cory moved to Germany and formed a band with Jason S. Thompson (The Sky We Scrape), Max Phillip (Captain Asshole) and Bastian Wegner. The four piece have been hard at work crafting their debut album Redefining Home which was released last month through Gunner Records and Say-10 Records. After catching part of their set at Booze Cruise in July, I was seriously looking forward to checking the album out.
Redefining Home starts with One Hotel Room. As all album openers should do, it really lays down a marker of what to expect – mid-tempo Americana-inspired punk rock with Call's distinctive raspy vocals leading the way. There's a really warm tone to the Little Teeth sound, making you feel welcome and reminding you of an old friend. I'm instantly on board with the album. Atlanticism is a slightly more up-tempo track that caught my attention immediately. Not only do Little Teeth up the tempo but the track is ridiculously catchy and it will become ingrained in your head before you even realise it. I really loved the addition of the harmonies on the track, it just takes the song up another level. These harmonies are a little subtle so they add to the song without taking anything away from Call's vocals. The first thing that struck me about the third song, Avondale, was how big it sounds. The song has this brilliant anthemic quality that makes it equally easy to imagine it being played in a big arena or in a tiny, sweaty basement – in both settings the crowd will sing the words back passionately at the band. Avondale is a bit of a mushy love song. It talks about living life to the absolute fullest with the person you're in love with, as there's so much to experience and so little time to do it.
Thinning Out is a song about friendship. It's about going to gigs and connecting with people that help you see a light at the end of a dark tunnel. This is something I'm certain the majority of people reading this will relate to in some way. As one of the strongest songs on Redefining Home, it's the sort of song that is great to sing along to with all of your gig pals. I really enjoyed the trade off between Call singing a line solo and then the band repeating the line with some great gang vocals. It sounds awesome. Sixteen Candles was a stand out song on my first listen of Redefining Home. It was the line "All I know, nothing ever mattered but these basement shows. Alone and getting hammered with the friends who chose music as a better way to make our way out of the fire." The song is about the power of music for perhaps the briefest of moments, how it can make you feel alive and forget about all the bad things that are happening in your life. Another extremely relatable theme. There's something special about those nights spent with your own bunch of misfits singing along to your favourite songs that can make everything seem better and it's something I'm personally eternally grateful for.
Bender was released as a single before Redefining Home. This was a great choice as it showcases many of the great things about Little Teeth. It's a hook filled and catchy mid-tempo song with introspective lyrics, a great chorus and some great harmonies. A particular highlight of the song for me was the breakdown that then builds up to a spectacular conclusion to the song. The seventh song, Amphetamine, looks at abusing alcohol and drugs to get through hard times before meeting someone who helps you move away from those life choices. It's a really uplifting and life affirming track that ends on a lovely positive note. It's good for people to hear there is sometimes a way out of your darkest moments. Pillow Cases starts out with a generally heavier tone with some pounding drums opening the song up. It's fitting as the opening lyrics of the song are "Oh dark and deadly bleak and miserable night." Despite the heavier tone this is still unmistakably Little Teeth, displaying all we've come to expect from them so far whilst also showing a moodier side to the band. I was impressed with the range Call shows with his gravelly vocal on the song. Expertly switching between moody and hopeful.
The ninth song is titled Drunk Apostles. Drunk Apostles is perhaps my favourite track on Redefining Home. Really upping the tempo, the song is filled with this beautiful and infectious energy that I really loved. The track starts slowly, gradually building towards the pop-like melody that quickly hooked me in. It's about how the people you meet on tour can inspire you and give you hope when all seems lost. There's an autobiographical feel to the track as Cory recounts a tour with Makewar (which I went to the London show of) and how that lead him onto the right path. I adore when the chorus hits – it's sung with such a passion and urgency. The penultimate song on Redefining Home is Sleep Better. Bringing the pace back down slightly, this is a track heavy on gang vocals and harmonies – two of my favourite things. This gives the track a great feeling of inclusiveness that invited you to sing along with the song. There is another positive feel to the song as Call sings about finding a way to ease his mind and sleep better. Last up is Western Skies. I immediately loved that this feels like a final track. The way in which it builds up at the start gives you the immediate feeling that it's going to be a big ending to Redefining Home. The song doesn’t stray far from the Little Teeth sound but everything sounds like it's been turned up a notch. Western Skies tackles the theme of separation but always managing to find your way back to someone. A fine song to finish a fine album.
Redefining Home is as good as you would expect from a band featuring such talented songwriters and musicians. There's a definite crossover appeal for plenty of different genres that fall under the rock 'n' roll banner. Whether it's punk, Americana or even indie, I can see plenty of people getting on board with Little Teeth.
Stream and download Redefining Home here: https://littleteethband.bandcamp.com/releases
Like Little Teeth here: https://www.facebook.com/littleteeth/
This review was written by Colin Clark.
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