Walking into the studio, you’re welcomed with a flood of pink and green lights swirled within a hazy mist; giving off a still swamp like mystic. The band steps onto the stage, and as soon as the first guitar string is strung it cuts through the mist, bursting with room-filling synths. Suddenly this small studio space transforms into a bubble of penetrating rhythms and gorgeous guitar lines.
Presented by Remote Control Records for the Dot Dash sessions, Teeth & Tongue delivered a bone shakingly sweet set at Newmarket Studios in North Melbourne on Wednesday 1st of February. Playing to a small crowd in an intimate setting, the Melbourne based electro-rock band showcased songs from their fourth album Give Up On Your Health.
Starting off as a solo musical project by frontwoman Jess Cornelius, Teeth & Tongue have morphed into a bit of a collective of friends with Marc Regueiro-McKelvie on guitar, Damian Sullivan on bass, James Harvey on drums and Cheyenne Harper on keys. Cornelius has put together a team that gels perfectly together, and it’s evident in their live shows.
Opening with “Give Up On Your Health”, the performance starts strong and Cornelius easily takes the stage by control. She sways, leans and rolls into each song; her vocals going from purrs to growls, effortlessly hypnotizing listeners. “Do Harm” expresses the sweet synths they do so well, whilst “Your Ghost Is the Hardest to Kill” shows off a darker side. “Cupcake Revisited”, an older song revamped, demonstrates the bands evolving sound, and “Vaseline On the Lens”, from the 2011 album Tambourine, took the room back to the bands roots. Cornelius describing it as her, ‘stoner rock phase’. The set closes with, “Turn, Turn, Turn” and just when you’ve become fully immersed within the music, it snaps you back to reality with its abrupt, but thrilling, end.
Teeth & Tongue deliver a dynamic live show. Each song is enhanced; with an almost darker, more spine tingling feel. If you have the chance to see them live I definitely recommend you treat yourself, you will not regret it!
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