There’s something about The Teeth’s first proper LP, You’re My Lover Now, that sounds equally as fresh as it does familiar. Both classic and recognizable sounds are abundant on the record, but the way the band combines and delivers them is uniquely refreshing.
Brian Eno said that a band’s “mistakes are often more interesting than their intentions.” There’s something to be said about the artistic process of making a record, as trip ups lead to something new and distinctive. It’s finally nice to see a band wisely (and bravely) embrace their stumbles in this watered down indie music world.
The Teeth’s Peter MoDavis described the band’s original recordings as “clean and solid” but lacking “a certain sense of urgency and melodramatic cynicism” that the band is partial to. With cleanliness and efficient planning at the top of the band’s priority list, they had “neglected to understand what this album was to become as a whole. As we all know, what (or who) goes up, inevitably, must come down.” Illustrating this while explaining a Teeth album, MoDavis added, “What falls down will sometimes go back up, resurrecting itself anew.” The result of the band taking their setbacks in stride is what makes this album such a triumph - a brilliant mess.
Rooted in garage rock with a dash of Bowie and Bolan melodramatic panache, You’re My Lover Now tells tales of failed relationships, parents, bridesmaids popping a lude, anorexic girlfriends, schoolmates, rabbits, and turtles delivered in what can best be described as a mutant rock opera style.
Like David Byrne, guitarist/keyboardist Aaron MoDavis takes a playful approach to songwriting inspired by the likes of T.S. Eliot, Jacques Brel, and The Kinks Ray Davies. Songs range from “Ball of the Dead Rat,” a philosophical ballad about a breakup infused with a soulful organ; to the Tom Waits-ish revenge track “Molly Make Him Pay;” to the eloquent “Rabbit Run;” and dark humor of “A Flight in the Dark” (”Even you’re eyes don’t say what they mean/Watching you’re dad take down the Christmas tree/You’ve got his nose and his real estate/Just as pure as the kitty cats he threw in the lake”).
The Philadelphia quartet, rounded out by Brian Ashby on guitar (a lifelong friend of the MoDavis twins) and drummer Jonas Oesterle, is busy touring the U.S. and will be back in Philly on July 21st before heading out for a couple more dates (two of them in New York City) . You’re My Lover Now is out now on Park The Van Records (Dr. Dog, The Capitol Years) - pick it up at your favorite record shop.