I’ve only seen Back Teeth play a total of three times. Once in a small venue where no one cared, and twice at a big festival where everyone cared. This should tell you all you need to know about the band – they’re there for the party and the singalongs. Even if the band hasn’t cross your path before, singer Lewis Bloor probably has; he’s been partying his way around the scene for a while.
You would be forgiven for thinking they’ve been around forever, with how fast they made a name for themselves. Their first, self-titled, EP only came out in 2024. They had a full-length planned for a while, and it took them a bit of effort, but this past October they finally managed to release their first full-length ‘Ultimate Worrier’.
Fans of Iron Chic, rejoice. You finally have a new record to listen to, it’s just slightly more British.
[Editor’s note: Back Teeth doesn’t have their lyrics online, and I forgot to buy a record. I will always blame English not being my native language for struggling to make out what is happening. The usual “line of the song” isn’t there on this review.]
Of course, the record starts off with a small dance-tune sequence, before First We Crack the Shells becomes exactly what you’d expect from Back Teeth. Melodic, gruffy, and catchy. The riffs feel dangerous and desperate, reminding you of the feeling of heading head-first into the night.
Moving on to Time For the Forever Box, you fully notice the band’s love for Iron Chic. The chorus, the repeating “do you have any better suggestions”, you could tell me it’s a cover of a b-side on Not Like This, and if I didn’t know better, I would believe you.
This Crowd Isn’t Getting Any Younger is something I’ve said aloud more than once. We’re a scene where we are all self-aware enough that we’re heading to, if not fully in, our middle-age. More Leatherface-influenced than Iron Chic on this one, occasionally almost having grungy feel to it.
The intro on Weight of Information shows how Back Teeth absolutely kills it at the melodies, though the song itself falls a bit flat, feeling repetitive. You keep expecting the moment they come in with that hook, but instead, that melody is the hook used.
Legacy Bands of Provincial Towns brings us to about the halfway point of the record. We’re back to our usual hooks and melodies. Though I am sure it’s completely accidental, I want to draw the comparison with the Dutch band Coral Springs on this one. This is exactly the kind of song I expect them to write, which tells you that it’s poppy yet almost bordering on skate-punk, without fully taking on the mantle.
Kicking off the second half, we’ve got New Ghost up next. At this point, the same issue as I have with many bands in the genre starts kicking in, it all feels a bit samey. But damn, there’s some call-and-response and backing vocals here that the record has been sorely missing so far. Way to keep things fresh.
Really, at this point I am convinced that Back Teeth is just an orgcore cover band with their own songs. Grief Histories hits all the spots Hot Water Music fans want to hear in a song. The entire song reminds me of Caution-era Hot Water Music, from the melodies to the repetition that it ends with. It’ll get stuck in your mind, and will make for some great sing-alongs.
Means of Reduction really is more of the same. This is not a bad thing, because so far, it’s a very enjoyable record, but there’s not much in the song that stands out that the other songs didn’t offer as well. The vocals are gruffy, the instruments have melodies, and you can pick any band in the genre and point them as an influence for it.
Dudes Tripping actually gives us a bit of a change, though my understanding of music theory isn’t high – or existent – enough to point out why it does so. It’s almost a pop song, it’s almost a sad song, it’s almost wistful. It’s almost hopeful.
The entire record is just under 30 minutes, with title track Ultimate Worrier as their final song. One of those songs that seems written for a live audience, with a crowd screaming the words back in mind. “This is all that I am, this is all that I know”, Bloor screams over chaotic guitars, setting your mind to that final song at the show, where we know it’s going to end, where we reclaim our own space.
It’s a really fun record, and fans of the ‘orgcore’ genre shouldn’t sleep on it. It hits all the right notes, has all the right influences, and sounds exactly what you expect it to sound like. It’s a record written from the love of the genre, for those who love the genre. Does it break any new grounds? No. But sometimes, we reinvent the wheel, because we like to keep rolling. Back Teeth does that well, it’s a wheel you want to roll with.
