Fox Teeth - Tite! (self-released)
I'm always thrilled to find new bands who combine two of my favorite genres: emo and shoegaze. Is emo-gaze a thing? I almost hope not, because that name is horrendous, even if the music itself is extremely up my alley. However, most bands playing with influences from those two venerated genres end up swinging to one side more than the other. You either get the blissed-out heaviness of a band like Gleemer or something more in-line with janglier bands like Thank You, I'm Sorry, where the only shoegaze thing about them is the use of reverb. New Jersey trio Fox Teeth split the difference in the best way on their new record Tite!
Every part of Tite!, the band's first release since 2019's Poets & Ghosts EP, unifies their influences in a pure distillation of potent songwriting. It accomplishes everything that a band wants a first record to accomplish, a level-up in every way. Fox Teeth clearly held that mindset going in. If that wasn't apparent from the songs themselves, Tite! has instrumental intro and outro tracks. Typically that's a move saved for pretentious double albums, but Fox Teeth justify their use without overstaying their welcome. It only takes nine songs for the band to leave your head swimming with melodies and lingering sentiment.
Vocalist/guitarist Jade Rich pilots the trio through the choppy waters of youth, never getting swallowed by waves of regret and heartbreak. Faded snapshots of falling asleep in a movie theater ("Donnie Darko") or the color of a dream house ("Yellow House") edge in alongside Rich's more poetic lyrics. Every moment of yearning sorrow feels like a defining moment in the life of the listener. The sweetness of the vocals is matched with fluid performances from bassist Reynold Beaton and drummer Andrew Romanowski.
Fox Teeth capture a definitive idea of their sound on "Lost." They push into the outer limits of their atmosphere with a crescendoing conclusion into a blastbeat-driven explosion, only to fall back into quiet security in the final moments. They follow up their most blown out song with a beautifully faithful cover of Now, Now's "School Friends." These two songs, put back-to-back, showcase all of Fox Teeth's strengths in just over six minutes. With a debut LP this compulsively listenable, they're in a very good place.
Listen to Tite! below.
(Cover art by Sydney Sebastian)
Arlen Gun Club - Too Easy EP (self-released)
Cincinnati's Arlen Gun Club move at a million miles a minute. I don't say that just because of their fizzy pop-punk melodies or because every song they've released is a catchy singalong; Too Easy, the quartet's new EP, is their second in the last six months. They've got a workmanlike quality, pumping out riff after riff and chorus after chorus.
All four songs on Too Easy flow easily into the listener's brain and set-up shop, living rent-free in the best way. From the first notes of "Small World" to the fuzzy fade out that closes "Rosary," Arlen Gun Club are having tons of fun. That's not necessarily because these songs would become even more perfect when heard in a mosh pit; you can hear the crackle of synchronicity between all four members. Each backing "ooh" and drum fill works precisely because of how well the band understands what they're doing. Their songcraft hasn't changed since May's Fresh Face EP, but everything pops twice as much. Better production certainly helps with that. To my ears, it's more a result of the band growing as individuals and as a unit.
Listen to Too Easy below.
(Cover art by Leah Banky)
Sammy Heck - Ego Whip EP (self-released)
Ego Whip, the new EP from Maryland's Sammy Heck, is short and sweet. Four tracks of summery bedroom pop (only one of which exceeds two minutes in length) is all that project mastermind Samantha Gagnon needs to clear away the clouds. Her musical stylings have undergone a drastic shift from last year's i never got to be a girl scout EP. Less sparkle punk, more sparkle pop — the genres are different but the warm radiance is the same.
The title track sets the mood with acoustic guitar strums, drum machines, and pitched-up vocals. The effects on Gagnon's voice add a spark of quirkiness to the song. It's exceptionally lively, even as it sarcastically welcomes gaslighting. Ego Whip was performed and recorded entirely by Gagnon; each song feel like short messages beamed directly from her room, rather than any capital-O official release. She revels in their homespun nature. Feeling like summer is ending too soon ("bear bear"); staying online well past dark ("mystery machine"). They're topics that are broad in their universal familiarity.
Ego Whip's final song is its most special. "ingtbags - alt version" is addressed to Gagnon's past self, pre-transition. Details that might seem small, like finally learning to smile with your teeth, have an incredibly meaningful significance. She encourages self-care and self-acceptance, ending with the most important line: "It gets easier." Ego Whip ends tenderly, dissolving into distorted tapping and fraying tones. It can be easy to lose sight of the fact that music should be made for yourself before anyone else, but Gagnon hang on to that truth dearly.
Buy Ego Whip below. All proceeds will go towards paying for Gagnon's facial feminization surgery.
Equipment - "Coat Tails" (Chatterbot Records)
Toledo, Ohio's Equipment make extremely fun music. Much of last year's excellent Madrigal EP was driven by furious guitar lines and tongue-in-cheek lyrics about spending your rent money on Facebook posts. I don't know how someone could hear the riff-sampling part of "Raptured Trax, Pt. 2" without breaking out into a dopey grin. The trio's latest single "Coat Tails" could almost be the work of a different band.
The noontime dance parties of the past have been replaced with twilight reflections. Madrigal may have been driven by the wild fluctuations of any music scene and the unhealthy behaviors that threaten to devour anyone participating, but it was couched within an amusement park of musical references and basement show anthems. "Coat Tails," the lead single for new EP All You Admire, matches the band's sound to Nick Zander's lyricism.
A two-chord progression starts the song, immediately matching the turquoise aura of the EP's cover. Night hasn't quite arrived; the sun still peeks over the harsh edges of a city skyline. Introspection is the name of the game. All You Admire is a sibling to Madrigal, the other side of an Equipment coin — both EPs were written at the same, after all . Zander is still focused on the ways that one can get caught up in a scene (and industry at large) that rewards blatantly pursuing success at others' expense. "Coat Tails" may seem like an outward condemnation of anyone trying to hitch a ride "all the way to the top." Rather, it's a self-critique of Equipment's own past, intended now as a lesson well-learned for anyone who might try to follow in those footsteps ("We're all just trying / to grow, yeah you were me once").
Zander, along with bassist Jacob Scott and drummer Jake Pachasa, may have crafted their most sublime song yet. "Coat Tails" may not hit the sugary highs of the past — it doesn't need to. The trio do more with less, an economy of expression where the stock market is at an all-time high. Emphasis is placed on the sum of the song's parts instead of any single element. A dazzling post-chorus soars out of nowhere, bringing Equipment into soul-stirring indie rock territory.
Equipment accomplishes more in three minutes that many bands might accomplish on an entire EP. Even if "Coat Tails" is the "softest song" on the EP, it bodes well for All You Admire being a late entry for release of the year.
Listen to "Coat Tails" below. Watch the video, shot by the band and Bri Snodders, here.
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