by Matt Keim
With their eyes on the dance floor, Damn Teeth have released their first single, “Real Control,” off their upcoming album, Real Men. The single's video is a writhing mass of sound and color over which singer Paul McArthur spits platitudes about submission and sexual deviancy. Synths tear down from the ceiling, grinding away in circles while the beat lurches back and forth. It's equal parts LCD Soundsystem and Queens of the Stone Age, and it's delivered with a bored disdain that keeps it from falling too heavily into either camp.
It's McArthur's indifference to the aggression spinning around him that elevates the music beyond a form of aggro-techno-rock. The squealing synths might pierce eardrums, and the drums can fall into tom breakdowns at a moments notice, but McArthur is at the center, drawling on about sex swings. Towards the end, his approach changes, and with excitement and rising pitch he asks the people if they want to take back control. The tables have turned, and all he receives is a bored "yeah." This sets off a fire in the band and they let loose with a blistering outro and in unison bark out orders to "Sever yr cock, it's such a let down." Even at this level of madness, Damn Teeth are unimpressed, and it's the anchor this music needs to keep churning away.
The full album is out July 12th on Buzzhowl Records and coincides with a 16 day tour throughout the UK. They're celebrating the release at CHUNK in Leeds on July 13th. Don't forget to drink water if you're attending. If the lead single is anything to base the rest of the album off of, you're going to need it.