Police Teeth
Awesomer Than the Devil
Rating: 3.9/5.0
Label: Latest Flame
Fugazi’s indefinite hiatus sucks for plenty of reasons but one of the most glaring is the complete dearth of bands willing or able to fill the void. Even the almighty Dischord itself has turned its back on the sound for more than a decade now, instead investing in forward thinking experimental pioneers like Q and Not U and Black Eyes, as well as even stretching into power pop territory with the likes of Medications. That’s not a bad thing, but it just means some of us are left with an itch we can’t scratch. Luckily, Seattle’s Police Teeth have stepped in with roughneck anthems and sloganeering that may not necessarily be political but is infectiously unifying all the same.
The trashy thrash of opener “Send More Cops” notwithstanding, Police Teeth’s Awesomer Than the Devil could have come straight from Dischord’s most visible, prolific era. Pulling from the same UK punk stock as Dischord’s first wave, Police Teeth aren’t here to rock your iPhone – they’re out to make you sweat in a pit or a basement or an abandoned warehouse with brutally effective songcraft that anyone could shout along to.
The Fugazi similarities especially kick in when Police Teeth strip those first wave punk influences down and integrate hardcore structures, as is the case with the taut, blistering momentum of “Rock & Roll Is a Pyramid Scheme (Parts 1 & 2).” The anxious energy and crime narrative of “Public Defender” likewise brings to mind “Waiting Room,” if it were crossed with “Hot Wire My Heart” performed without the copious amounts of speed. Or if I were being clever, I suppose I’d call it the down tempo remix of Fugazi’s appealingly titled “Public Witness.”
Police Teeth find time to sneak in some odder musical quotes as well, as is the case with the “Paint It Black”-like riff that ignites “True Stuff” or the playful guitars on “Dude Handler’s Permit,” which could blend in on a Cure album if they had less distortion and more delay. It’s only fitting that a potential Fugazi inheritor would have a knack for blending in seemingly disparate genre elements.
In true hardcore spirit, most of these tracks offer what is likely just the barest of inklings of what Police Teeth’s live show is like. Can you listen to “Digital Snakes” and its face-punching guitar and not want to go start a mosh pit in the middle of the nearest group of people? “Christian Rudolph, A Man of Science” ups the ante not just with its totally fucking awesome name but also with some fist pumping, sing-along action that emerges from the maelstrom of the guitars and drums towards the end.
That’s exactly the kind of thing that differentiates Police Teeth from their like minded peers Japandroids and PS I Love You, who channeled other, more oft-cited ’80s hardcore giants on their debuts. Where Japandroids seemed to be totally okay with just taking Hüsker Dü’s template and dumbing it down, Police Teeth prove that beyond similarities of sound, what they have most in common with Fugazi is a desperate desire to respect the structures and formulas of hardcore while stretching their boundaries. Awesomer Than the Devil, then, is just a glimpse at where they’ll eventually be heading.
by Nick Hanover
Key Tracks: Rock & Roll Pyramid Scheme (Parts 1 & 2), Public Defender
