At the time of writing this review, the UK is balls-deep in a state-mandated quarantine due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Pubs, bars, venues and clubs are all closed, people are struggling with not being able to spend time with their friends and family, and the general consensus is that the first post-lockdown sesh is going to be fucking biblical. When that does happen, you’d be hard pressed to find a better soundtrack than this wild-eyed, booze-soaked debut from Shower Of Teeth. Hailing from the North East of England, these four lads got together in mid-late 2019 and in the short time since have put together ‘Oranjedoom’, a seven track, twenty minute, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it flash of rock and roll fury.
For the most part, this record wears its influences on its sleeve. Opener ‘Til Death Do Us Party’ is snarling and menacing in its delivery, but there’s an underlying good-time vibe pushing it along. Think about when The Dillinger Escape Plan do a rare party song like ‘Milk Lizard’ or ‘Setting Fire To Sleeping Giants’ and you’d be somewhere near. Tracks like debut single ‘Vagabondage’ and the brilliantly titled ‘Slow Gurner’ mix the relentless momentum of Every Time I Die or The Bronx with the unhinged unpredictability of The Chariot. As well as these more immediate influences, the band also cites a deep love of Queens Of The Stone Age, and that spaced-out, desert rock undercurrent is present throughout, particularly on deranged album closer ‘Nutbush City Blues’.
By now you’ve probably got a decent idea of what Shower Of Teeth are about; bags of energy, riffs for days, swagger and sleaze all over the shop. Basically, a band to get shit-faced to with your pals and do some ill-advised stage-dives that you’ll regret the next day. And they are all of that, but there’s also something extremely accessible about what they’ve created. These songs are interesting but they’re never impenetrable, and there are hooks aplenty that will stay with you long after the album has finished its brief runtime. For a band that got together roughly six months ago, this is an astonishing debut brimming with potential and it’s incredibly exciting to think about what they could accomplish if they continue at this rate. Get ready to smash one too many jagerbombs and climb on your pals, because Shower Of Teeth won’t settle for anything less.
LIAM KNOWLES