Album Review: Pianos Become The Teeth - 'Keep You'

Pianos Become The Teeth have mellowed it out somewhat for their third record 'Keep You,' their first full length since signing to Epitaph Records. Fans will notice a distinct lack of screaming in the vocals in particular and interestingly enough, the band revels in this new sound.

The smooth openings of 'Ripple' show how emotive their music can be, rolling drums and guitar lines that intertwine with the relaxed, melodic vocals, nearly makes this sound like a completely different band. The mellow openings rise in intensity slightly for 'Lesions', however the vocals are still quite restrained, sung and gentle.

Interestingly, it seems like the next step for PBTT. They could have easily offered up something akin to their first two releases but have made a change that shows a completely different side to the group while expanding the bounds of this genre.

There is so much beauty to be found in the instrumentation of this record, the guitar lines at the beginning of 'Old Jaw', or the solemn melodies in 'Repine', it can't be said enough how exciting a sound this is for the group. 'Enamor Me' sounds like rolling waves, the guitars and drums working in tandem for the crash while the vocals pull everything back out gently only to crash again. Moreover, the dynamics of this album are intense considering the level never raises to anything too big.

'Queen' uses some serious space to deliver its breezy melodies, the sparse snare drums and atmospheric guitars provide a barely-there bed for the vocal lines, all of which slowly building and gathering steam as the song moves along. The record closes on the whisper-like 'Say Nothing', another relaxed traveller, which brings back the hefty emotion and some powerful chorus lines which may or may not be quoting Ronan Keating.

Pianos Become The Teeth have successfully pushed their genre in a new direction and have offered up an album that will be a complete surprise to everyone, but is also one of the finest records released this year.

1. Ripple

2. April

3. Lesions

4. Old Jaw

5. Repine

6. Late Lives

7. Enamor Me

8. Traces

9. Queen

10. Say Nothing