The Key Studio Sessions: Loose Tooth

I finally managed to see Philadelphia punk outfit Loose Tooth this spring. We’ve dug their music for a while over here at The Key, ever since the first songs from 2015’s Easy Easy East began to surface in the blog world — but it wasn’t till the band was paired with Abi Reimold on the release show for the latter’s Wriggling that I got to experience the force of nature these four Philadelphians are in concert. From the stage at Johnny Brenda’s, a torrent of interlocking guitars by Kian Sorouri and Kyle Laganella were led by intricate bass lines from Larissa Sapko and thunder drums from Christian Bark – it was dynamic, reaching from simmering lows to scorching highs. And it made me super psyched to hear the new record that’s wrapping up production at Headroom Studios.

When Loose Tooth stepped in the XPN studio to record their Key Session this past weekend, it was a double treat of sorts – firstly because of the six songs they played, only one (“Lizzy”) was previously featured on Easy. The rest are getting their first airing here, and I’m purely pumped about how fierce they sound. Like the music of their debut, these five cuts are a conglomeration of awesome: Pixies and Pavement and Dinosaur Jr., even bits of Brand New and Yuck. There are moments that lean more askew (“Free Skate”), moments that work the quiet-loud thing into an abrasive boil (“Roach Motel” – which you can watch the band perform in the video below) and moments that are pure, infectious fuzz-pop joy (“Sleep with the State Concept”).

Then there’s the other treat: Reimold herself, who happened to be in the neighborhood the day we recorded and stopped in to take the mic on opening jam “Day Old Glory.” She’s a master of dynamics herself, and her performance on this song has a bold dramatic flare – an aching verse that slams into an enthralling refrain. I distinctly remember seeing, from the control room, that Reimold and Sorouri were emphatically marching in place by the end and it made me feel like the song needed to depart the studio and get taken to the streets.

Which is happening here, sort of. You can listen to the entire set below, and grab a download over at our Soundcloud page. The release timeline of Loose Tooth’s next record is still TBD, so these songs will have to tide you over until then, but in the meantime, you can see the band play live tomorrow night when they open for Boston noisemakers Pile over at Everybody Hits; tickets and more information on the show can be found at Facebook.

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