Baby Teeth Get Vintage
Hustle Beach brings the sounds of the 70’s to the modern Midwest
Baby Teeth
Hustle Beach
Released on Jul 14, 2009
Chicago four-piece, Baby Teeth have decidedly gone retro on their third full-length, Hustle Beach. Upon my first listen to the album I though I may have accidentally grabbed my dad’s Ipod by mistake, as the music was all so profoundly vintage. Now I have nothing against old music, some of the greatest music ever written, and assuredly some of the most influential music to many of today’s great artists came out of the 60’s and 70’s. This, however, is not that music.
Not to lead you to believe that this album is merely a 70’s rip-off, that’s not the case. They actually do manage to make some fairly catchy songs, most of which incorporate heavy keyboard lines by vocalist and keyboardist Abraham Levitan. Lyrics are another thing that bears paying attention to. While the lyrics often become repetitive at times, stories of young love, growing up and strangely enough, even school, are littered throughout. The first track of the album, “Big Schools” puts emphasis on all three of these themes.
My biggest qualm with Hustle Beach was that it never really captured my attention. There were no standout songs for good or bad, it was the same straight on through. There was never much differentiation from song to song. Nearly every song started slightly pretentious 70’s-esque keyboard romp, before heading into a very familiar, mid-tempo jaunt through the rest of the song.
“I Hope She Won’t Let Me,”
which comes up pretty early in the album, slows things down from the
already mid-paced trend, but it brings a little soul
into the record. It features some sweet vocal harmonies and a staggering
bass groove. It's also void of their usual vintage pop drum,
which appears to have given them more room to explore sonically.
This mellow ballad of love on the rocks is one of the few standout songs
on Hustle Beach. On the other hand, “Shrine,” the track immediately
following “I Hope She Won’t Let Me,” pulls out an obnoxious synth
lead that brings the whole mellow vibe screeching to a halt.
Everything mellows back out again shortly with “Let It Roll.” With the soothing sounds of an unaltered piano in combination with somber story telling, it makes for a pleasant listening experience. “Hard To Find A Friend,” the last track, keeps this mentality going. The construction of this song is very similar to that of “I Hope She Won’t Let Me,” in that they abandon their poppy ambitions, and focus on a more solid, emotional piece of music.
While it may not have catered
to my tastes on the whole, Baby Teeth did have their moments.
It also bears to mention that there was some wonderful musicianship
on this album; Jim Cooper’s bass playing was always on point and Abraham
Levitan’s prowess on the keyboard did not go unnoticed. If you’re
a hardcore classic rock fan you may be thrilled with this album, as
for the rest of us, for the most part we could do without.
High Point
“Big Schools” featured some catchy choruses and had some hard work and emotion behind it.
Low Point
“Snake Eyes” got annoying, and it got annoying quick. Good riddance.
Posted by Andrew Scott on Jul 16, 2009 @ 7:00 am