Pianos Become The Teeth: "This record, it's so raw" | Dork
Pianos Become The Teeth: "This record, it's so raw"
Finding themselves in the centre of a musical world of their own making, Pianos Become The Teeth's new album 'Drift' is nothing short of remarkable.
It's an apt and telling thought about growing older and the changing nature of relationships, but it can equally be applied to Pianos Become The Teeth's development and evolution. No longer the poster boys for screamy hardcore, the group is now standing alone in a genre of their own making. Not quite post-hardcore, not quite post- or indie-rock, they've instead coalesced these ideas into something entirely new.
'Drift' is the culmination of this journey, which started with 2014's landmark 'Keep You' and continued with 2018's equally outstanding 'Wait For Love'. As great as these records are, however, it's not a stretch to say that on 'Drift', they have fully realised their ambition.
While the intensity and beauty have always been there, they have never sounded so rich, both sonically and thematically. Pianos Become The Teeth may be the same entity, but there's no question that the people behind the scenes are increasingly bold and confident in the steps they're taking. But, as they rightly attest, they are not who they used to be.
"I will always consider my band to be a punk band," considers guitarist Mike York as we chat during a break from his day job building guitar amps. "But now we're not screaming at you. We're just a punk band that makes different music.
"I think, with this record, it's so raw. It's very emotive, and there's compassion in it. There's depth to the lyrics. People get turned onto hardcore bands because they want something honest – and how could anything be more honest than when someone's screaming in your face? But we've done that. We never felt like we needed to write another 'Old Pride'. We want to go where the creativity takes us, so I think it would feel contrived if we did.
"We've never been a band that you can soundbite"
Mike York
Mike's absolutely right to take pride in 'Drift' too, as it's a sonic, aesthetic and emotional triumph. But Pianos Become The Teeth (completed by guitarist Chad McDonald, bassist Zac Sewell and drummer David Haik) also know they've had to work harder than ever to make it a reality.
An entire album's worth of material was written before being junked, as the rough cuts didn't work with the band's ambition of what they were striving to achieve. Meanwhile, the recording process saw the group get more ambitious than ever before, including using different recording spaces – including Mike's uncle's remote cabin and Kyle's family's retreat in West Virginia.
These experiences not only helped shape the sound but also the concept, resulting in an album that reflects the feeling of a long night. It starts with Durfey calling the lights to be turned off on opener 'Out Of Sight' and concludes with the dazzlingly beautiful 'Pair', which breaks through the mist like dawn sunshine.
Consequently, it means that 'Drift' is deliberately designed to be listened to front-to-back in its entirety. The moon doesn't get to skip a phase, and neither should you, being the message from the band.
"We've never been a band that you can soundbite," laughs Mike. "I think our records are at their best when they're presented as a package and are listened to in the context of that package. Each record has an anchor point or a big idea, and there's always something Kyle is trying to get across lyrically, or we're trying to get across musically.
Unsurprisingly, such a commitment to the bigger picture meant Pianos Become The Teeth faced challenges when choosing singles for 'Drift', with the camp split between hitting them with the "weirdest shit off the record" and tracks which represented the record as a whole. "That was so hard," laughs Mike. In the end, the band reached a happy medium, dropping the propulsive 'Genevieve' and darkly moody 'Skiv' before this interview, the former being a crunchy post-hardcore number, the latter a moody slow burn.
Equally challenging – and arguably more important for a band which constantly thrills on stage – they now need to find a way to translate such a sonically ambitious record to the live show. Mike acknowledges that they have to think about much of this "retroactively", but it also means the songs on 'Drift' will no doubt sound far different – and considerably more punchy – once they've worked things out.
Indeed, one of the most striking aspects of 'Drift' is the uniformity of its sound, with the songs living up to the album title as they drift and collide into each other. There's a dark, atmospheric quality which recalls Elliott's genre-defining 'False Cathedrals' or 'Song In The Air'. And, like Chris Higdon's stunning vocal takes on those landmark emo records, Durfey has never sounded better, with his voice acting like a guiding light through the fog.
"I don't think anybody will be chunking our music up for TikTok"
Mike York
It's not the only such light to be found on the album, either. Subtle strings and horns fill out the sound but never feel out of place. Instead, they're often revelatory, making an already rich album sound decadent. Of course, the challenge for the band is how you make something so bold, progressive and atmospheric while still retaining the punk edge.
"There's this juxtaposition going on, too," he continues. "On 'Skiv', there's a real murkiness to the sound, but there's also this really dry brightness to Kyle's vocals. It almost sounds like he's whispering in your ear. He sounds so close it's intense.
The truth is, there's so much going on throughout 'Drift' that it's impossible to grasp the nuance, beauty and intensity on just a single listen. Instead, it's a real time sink of an album that actively rewards investment.
Pianos Become The Teeth might have set out with lofty aims, but it's remarkable to think that the end result might even have exceeded their ambition.
Mike compares it to working on a giant mural, where it's easy to get lost in the minute detail of a single moment, but you can only appreciate the scale of the project once you take a few steps back. Care and attention have been paid to every single second of 'Drift', with the band labouring to get the desired results.
They may no longer be screaming, but what's more punk than ploughing blood, sweat and tears into something you love?
Taken from the September issue of Upset. Pianos Become The Teeth's album 'Drift' is out 26th August.
Charli xcx has shared a fashion-forward new video for forthcoming album track ‘SS26’
Further details surrounding the record have yet to be confirmed.
