Teeth & Tongue, lead by Jess Cornelius, is a Melbourne based pop band with some serious talent. Cornelius lends her talents to direct an assortment of instrumental voices into accompanying her in a variety of tunes. The band’s latest album, Give Up On Your Health is, while nothing to lose your health over, something certainly spectacular.
Pop, blues, and everything indie rock –Give Up On Your Health is a beautiful marbled mix of styles, perfectly molded together into one awesome album. All of the tracks are fairly likable –all for different reasons. The album is catchy and soulful –pop with heart.
You hit play and the title track begins to play. A synth line lays out a solid beat for you as the vocals work their way in. It’s a neo 80’s atmosphere delivered by some fantastic indie rock musicians. Vocalist Jess Cornelius has a husky, alluring voice –when coupled with the electronic beat and guitar chords, it makes for a very poppy but solid opener. From here, things only get better. Teeth & Tongue will put you into a state of awe.
“When We Meet,” the fourth track of the album, is a solid reflection of Teeth & Tongue’s skill. The song is active, bluesy, and with a dash of some more interesting guitar lines. The sheer energy of the band is enough to suck you in. As a midway point in the album, it’s an excellent climax –Teeth & Tongue know what they’re doing. The seventh track, “Dianne,” seems to place Teeth & Tongue in their natural atmosphere. Driven by synth (much like the first track), and carried forward with some sweet guitar licks and fun vocal lines –solid choruses. Time and time again, Teeth & Tongue prove to be musical badasses.
Overall, Give Up On Your Health is a pop album but a fantastic one. It’s filled with snippets of some really great guitar lines; the percussion constantly carries a very nonintrusive but still danceable and enjoyable rhythm, and the vocals, while being prevalent, are balanced and continuously enjoyable. Parts of Give Up On Your Health is almost reminiscent of Lana Del Rey or similar –albeit with a tasteful restraint. The female vocals, the often busy tracks laden with synth, and groovy guitar lines –it’s all very familiar but less noisy. At the end of the day, Teeth & Tongue is still pop music to the core, but with heavy indie, blues, and rock influences. That said, Give Up On Your Health is both extremely accessible, and somewhere just on the cusp of ‘for certain fans only’. At the same time, fans of Lykke Li, even the Black Keys, have something to gain from Teeth & Tongue’s latest album. Give Up On Your Health is killer.
Nearly a closer, the eighth track, “Callback,” is incredibly soulful and a nice way to begin bringing the album to an end. The song begins slow, building in layers. Guitar, vocals, and then an added ambiance. “Callback” largely showcases the guitar –more bluesey, slower, heavier; as well as the vocals –amplifying Cornelius’ soulful aspects. It’s a slow but dreamy four minutes. Teeth & Tongue nail a sentimental vibe perfectly and a fantastic balance between voices is found. Guitar and vocals compliment one another perfectly.
As a general recommendation –listen to Give Up On Your Health. The album is a real special breed of alternative pop music and it’s solid. The diversity between tracks will guarantee that there’s a little something for everyone. The catchy vocal lines mixed with carefully played guitar is stellar. Overall, the album makes for an accessible, top notch listen.
Rating: 8.0/10
