There’s a certain allure to playing a house show. Window sills are littered with half-empty Miller Lites, chatter persists in the background, and something about being on the same ground as the band allows a lush intimacy to take hold. “It was fun and inspiring,” Teethe’s Grahm Robinson tells AP over email, recalling the Denton, Texas music circuit that shaped the band. “Almost everything we did outside of school or work revolved around going to shows. I miss how playing in small, crammed spaces can make the band sound really glued together.”
The group — rounded out by Boone Patrello, Maddie Dowd, and Jordan Garrett — owe a great deal to that DIY scene, where they earned their stripes with various projects prior to their inception: Patrello fronted lo-fi indie band Dead Sullivan; Dowd banged out hazy tunes under Crisman while operating a house venue called Bean Cave; Robinson helmed MAH KEE OH, backed by his future bandmates; Garrett played in Crisman and Hat Hair before settling down in Austin. The framework of Teethe came together when Patrello and Dowd, students at the University of North Texas, linked up with Garrett and Robinson, graduates of the same alma mater, to start jamming. Their creative chemistry became apparent through living room sessions and tape experiments, solidifying their formation in 2019 and leading to their home-recorded self-titled debut album.
Read more: Breaking the story with Water From Your Eyes
Five years on from that release, Magic of the Sale is just as entrancing as looking back on those core memories. The LP is a clear benchmark, backed by label support, deeper knowledge and intention, and friends (Wednesday, Hovvdy, etc.) who added their own touches. Again declining an outside producer, the members wrote and recorded by themselves in home studios, blurring the pieces into a cohesive slowcore expanse. Languid vocals and complexly layered textures give way to a spectral, drowsy quality that seems like a response to our collective realities — pushing through burnout, agonizing over getting out of bed, and wading through perennial anxiety. If that’s the feeling conjured, though, it wasn’t on purpose. “There was no intention outside of thinking something sounded cool or elevated the song in some way,” Patrello says. “I like getting microscopic with a song and using as much detail as possible in every little moment. I just can’t move on from a part until I’ve at least tried every idea I have for it.” That purpose spills over on Magic of the Sale, comprising meticulously crafted arrangements that provide an escape from whatever grief’s trailing us.
Wes Ellis
What was the music scene in Denton, Texas like when Teethe were coming up? What do you miss about playing house shows now that you’ve moved into bigger spaces?
BOONE PATRELLO: There are a lot of musicians in a small area, so starting a band was easy. There are a lot of house venues, too, so booking and playing shows was also pretty easy. I miss how you just showed up and played.
MADDIE DOWD: The Denton music scene had a very DIY mindset when we were there. Every weekend, there’d be house shows going on. Once we started putting on our own shows at Bean Cave, it was really fun to get to have a say in bills and curate the scene that came out of that. I miss the casualness of playing in houses and just the accessibility it lends to trying something new.
JORDAN GARRETT: Denton was an actual hotbed for creative and artistic expression. There were small tape labels and such coming up, art and culture publications run by fellow students, and all of it seemed to intersect with the house show/DIY scene. What was really special was how all of these entities were essentially part of a large web of friendships — it definitely allowed us and others to create freely.
Trying to get a sense of the band chemistry, what sort of media did you bond over with the other members of Teethe when you were first getting to know each other? Where do your tastes diverge?
PATRELLO: We had a band stay at our house once, and one of the members played Acetone on the stereo, which was our first time hearing that band. I think that was a defining moment in our musical tastes converging. We like a lot of the same stuff. It’s rare that anyone ever puts something on in the van that I really don’t like.
ROBINSON: I remember talking to Boone about the Beatles when we first met. Some other influences that come to mind would be Spiderland, Automine, and Bedhead. I think the other band members are more tuned into contemporary pop stuff than I am, which is cool because I end up getting into music I may not have sought out on my own.
GARRETT: Musically, I think it’s pretty easy to pinpoint what our interests are. Spending as much time together in the van as we do, we inevitably share lots of our interests with one another, which is sometimes hit or miss. I remember putting on Longmont Potion Castle, which can wear on you after a while, as well as blaring SOAD to lock in for a long haul. Can’t say that’s for everyone.
These songs feel painstakingly made. Which was the hardest to finish, something you just couldn’t crack and then the magic hit?
PATRELLO: Every song has its growing pains. “Iron Wine” originally stayed very mellow throughout the whole song. It felt like it was lacking something, so I stacked a bunch of distorted guitars on the hook and rerecorded the drums on that part to match the heaviness. That made the hook feel a lot more powerful and the song overall more satisfying to listen to.
ROBINSON: I end up abandoning like 90% of my songs if I don’t think they’re good. I think my best songs tend to write themselves when I’m not thinking about it too much, and those are the ones that usually end up sticking around.
DOWD: For me, I’d say “Build & Crash” came together on the slower side. It wasn’t quite filled out until Boone really went hard on it, and everything just fell into place along with the added parts from Xandy and Charlie, too. I was really stoked to see how the song came together.
GARRETT: I’d say the majority of the songs are just us finishing each other’s sentences. On the title track, for example, Grahm and I rerecorded the song at his place, and we sent it over to Boone and Maddie as an instrumental. They put their touches and lyrics on it, and it was done. There really isn’t much, if any, creative directing going on, so the process of completing a track is pretty streamlined.
Wes Ellis
Why did it feel right to end the album on that warped instrumental?
PATRELLO: It feels like a portal closing, or opening. Maybe both…
What’s been your favorite discovery of the year so far? Can be new or old, just something that has moved you or you keep returning to.
PATRELLO: I’ve been listening to the new album by Nihilistic Easyrider called DELUXE EDITION a lot.
ROBINSON: Recently been listening to Blown Up Days by Kettle. They put out a tape on Julia’s War last year.
DOWD: Been enjoying this online and print publication called Hometown Journal. The videos are casual, which I really like, enjoy seeing artists’ studio set ups and their processes. It’s fun to watch. I’ve also been enjoying the new Nihilistic Easyrider album. Catchy stuff.
GARRETT: Found out about the British band Arco earlier this year. Their debut album, Coming to Terms (2000), is one I’ve returned to quite a bit. Also love pretty much everything released under the LA-based label 7th Heaven. Mostly rare reissues in the catalog, but some great contemporary acts in the mix, too.
