They Say:
Much of the album does indeed give off distinctly ghostly vibes, fit for soundtracking uneasily spooky yet beatific transmissions from limbo by the recently departed.
Take the epic "Hiraeth" as an example. Fuelled by a mournful trumpet and a sense of impending doom that's somehow triggered an outbreak of serene contemplation rather than screeching panic, the impressively majestic epic could well pass off as Ennio Morricone soundtracking an apocalyptic sci-fi flick (something along the lines of Blade Runner) set in a perpetually twilit, acid rain-splattered metropolis of ruins, were it not for a restlessly spluttering drum machine. There are further moments of similarly uneasy ambient that are strongly evocative of a danger-laden stroll through a ruined landscape of the worst possible future: unexpectedly, many of these, including the apparition-like, foggy "Fortean Steed" - helmed by otherworldly vocals that bring to mind the late-hippie era introspection of, say, Judee Sill or Linda Perhacs - turn out to be seriously beautiful stuff.
Yet Wraith also packs a spikier side. Propelled by a skittering, hyperactive drum machine that seems to teeter on the brink of collapse (whilst giving off some faint fumes of Radiohead's "Idioteque"), the opener "I'm Alright, Jack" is a fearsome burst of barely contained energy and more hooks than most bands manage across an entire album (if they're lucky). The closing "Gladiators Ready" builds into a massive release of industrial electronic sensory overload from an initial sense of anxious expectation, creating a powerful impression of the exact moment the hungry, riled-up lions are released to battle it out with desperate contestants armed with only their bare hands in some grotty coliseum of a dystopian future......
Read the full review here: The Line of Best Fit
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Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs are returning to one of our favourite festivals...the great Supersonic!
As always it will be a great weekend...info and tickets from here: Supersonic
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They say:
Wraith, the fifth album from Teeth of the Sea is another one to straddle musical divides, channelling prog-inspired soundtracks, jazz, minimal techno, rock and ambient into a multi-faceted soundstage that delivers what can only be described as a cerebral head-fuck of sound. Much of Wraith’s awesome pull comes from the capacity to restrain those elements; to programme the listening experience into equal parts awakening and plaintive rumination. The muted trumpet that you hear throughout the album plays like Miles Davis’s more solemn improvisations on In a Silent Way, or even earlier on the Gil Evan’s collaborations, Quiet Nights. Which isn’t to say that Teeth of the Sea’s music soothes the soul as those albums do, but rather the trumpet as used here is palliative, gentle but backgrounded by violence. Violence in the form of a serious room shaking bass drops, or violence in the suggestion of misfeasance. Like a Goblin soundtrack for instance.
What fascinates, as much as entertains, is the music's brilliant way of inculcating, making you wonder, working its way into your mind. I’m not usually one for an album that jumps about in mood, but Wraith works, and I think it comes down to some astute groundwork. The album sits well chronologically, arousing moods and referencing the past so brilliantly as to produce nostalgia for the great music of yore... 10/10
Read the full review here: Soundblab
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They say:
Teeth Of The Sea release their eagerly anticipated new album this Friday via Rocket Recordings. Simon Tucker reviews.
Teeth Of The Sea have been an adventurous and playful band since their inception. A rare breed of group that you genuinely don’t know how their next album will sound. This can result in an output that is a bit hit and miss. Back in 2013 I reviewed their album Master and was of the opinion that if the band settled on one style and examined it for the length of a full LP then they may produce a stone cold classic. Fast forward to 2019 and in Wraith the band have their most accomplished and coherent album to date. Wraith flows seamlessly and is a dense yet uplifting affair. The band talk about the spirits (wraiths…of course) that were supposedly keeping them company from the beginning of the writing and recording process. Whether you believe in that kind of thing is your own business but what is clear when listening to Wraith is that the trio plus producer Erol Alkan, percussionist Valentina Magalett, Chlöe Herington and Katharine Gifford certainly tapped into some unique inspiration helping to create an atmosphere that is both eerie and all consuming yet with enough propulsion to keep you locked and enamored.
From the driven opener I’d Rather, Jack (think Radiohead’s Idioteque with added discord and brass) to the shattered fuzz of closer Gladiators Ready, Wraith is an album built for the core. Feet, gut, heart and head are all serviced throughout its running time. The brass that swirls through the album is the wraith of the title. Its appearance serves as a ghostly hymn to the past. The switch into the grimy and desolate on Hiraeth is but one example of how the brass and electronics combine to make a joyously unsettling listen.
On Wraith, Teeth Of The Sea sound like a band fully in sync with a clear idea of how the narrative of the album will play out. Wraith is coherent, immersive and incredibly well structured with beautifully placed changes in pace and atmosphere making it not only their best album to date but one of the best releases of 2019 so far.
Read the full piece here: Louder than War
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Teeth of the Sea's new album WRAITH is released tomorrow (22nd) & to celebrate the band will be heading out on tour and be taking theses excellent T-Shirts that includes an amazing 'War of the Worlds' T-shirt, so get out to your local show & grab them quick from one of the following dates:
23 Feb / FR / Rouen / le 3 Pièces
24 Feb / FR / Liège / Le Garage
25 Feb / FR / Paris / Supersonic
26 Feb / FR / Nantes / La Schene Michelet
27 Feb / FR / Lille / La Malterie
28 Feb / BE / Gent / Charlatan
01 Mar / UK / Leicester / Soundhouse
02 Mar / UK / London / Moth Club (ALBUM LAUNCH SHOW)
12 Apr / UK / Todmorden / Golden Lion
13 Apr / UK / Manchester / Soup Kitchen
26 Apr / UK / Ramsgate / Ramsgate Music Hall
27 Apr / UK / Bristol / Rough Trade
26 May / UK / Cardiff / Cardiff Psych & Noise Fest
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They say:
This Ghostly Age: Teeth Of The Sea’s Wraith Reviewed
The fifth album from genre-undermining outfit Teeth of the Sea is the latest in a progression, from the multi-layered kosmic grooves and flourishes of their 2009 debut Orphaned By The Ocean to the techno-influenced Master and the crisp, filmic beats of Highly Deadly Black Tarantula. Wraith takes their soundtrack tendencies to a new place where the synths are even more sonorous, the brass extra melancholy, the beats exceptionally crunchy and the scale epic and wild. Since their last album, the band has slimmed to a trio – Sam Barton, Mike Bourne and Jimmy Martin – but the sound is, if anything, more surprising and more accomplished.
Wraith seems to reflect on cultural turbulence and change, with music that mixes elegy with elements of disaster movie and failed futures. Yet as well as chaos there is reflection, stillness and redemption. Teeth of the Sea are now almost veterans of a UK alternative music scene that, over the last couple of years, has delivered some exceptional responses to increasingly disturbed and disturbing times. Albums such as Gazelle Twin’s Pastoral and Gnod’s Just Say No to the Right Wing Capitalist Fascist Industrial Death Machine have set the standards for engaged music. Teeth of the Sea are far from an overtly political band, but how do you retain a sense of purpose without relating your music to your times. How to do this with music that’s largely instrumental? Wraith takes on the challenge with tracks that explore their concerns through titles and illustrative qualities, as soundtracks to events we cannot see, but lurk on the edges of our fears. The vivid, evocative qualities to Teeth Of The Sea’s music makes space for the mind to roam...
Read the rest here: Techno UK
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Both Flowers Must Die and Coldnose were invited to remix tracks by fellow Swedes Horseface. The remix are available on a Ltd edition cassette that is available to buy here: Bandcamp
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