Cheap Teeth’s aim is to write songs that are in equal measure structurally, and lyrically experimental as they are accessible. They are a band inspired by the dark cracks in the places they have lived, namely Edinburgh, Leeds and London. The late 70’s night clubbing extravaganza is fronted by Joe Laycock, who’s vocal performance ranges from raspy Russian-novel-inspired rambles to pristine, room-filling howls. This is backed by growling, anthemic licks from Josef Ash, grunting bass lines that feel both refreshingly self-assured and gorgeously wonky from Jack Sharp, all protected by drummer Sandy Short, who journeys the jauntily swinging listener along to what SO YOUNG zine described as ‘a snotty garage rock tsunami’, seamlessly immersing them into his world with icily locked in punk rhythms.
Joining them are the unrelenting and direct Hypothetics whose sound pushes the four to the extremes; as engaging with driven outbursts of noise as they are with thoughtful progressive ideas, we see a band that are happy not settling. Cutting their teeth at venues such as The Louisiana and The Thunderbolt, they quickly rose through the ranks, supporting Lady Bird and headlining Rough Trade a month before lockdown.
