Baby Teeth

Item: The Baby Teeth Album
Author: Mark Fisher

The Baby Teeth Album

(2005)

Reviewed by Mark Fisher

Discogs Bandcamp Apple Music TIDAL Spotify YouTube Music

Label Lujo RecordsDecapolisMay 2005

piano rock pop rock soft rock soul

Chicago's Baby Teeth may technically be newcomers but realistically they are far from it. Lead singer Pearly Sweets formerly fronted The Platonics, bassist Jim Cooper fronted The Detholz!, and drummer Peter Andreadis is known for his work under the savvy monikers Toy Puma and All City Affairs. So what happens when three guys, who were their previous bands center of attention, get together and make a record? The conflict that you would expect is surprisingly absent and what you are left with is a Top 40 band without major label production.

The Baby Teeth Album is an attempt to capture some good old fashioned Chicago soul in a non-corporate way. The album feels like a throwback to the singer/songwriters of the 1970's but it also shares a certain something with more recent artists like Ben Folds and Gavin DeGraw. Pearly Sweets handles all the songwriting and lyrics here (probably a reason there is no evident conflict for attention!) and he's a pretty solid songwriter but it seems like he just can't get a grip on what he's trying to do here. There are some really cool moments like "Loving Strokes" and the almost psychedelic "Butter X" but for the most part it falls short. Almost every song here seems like a good idea but just doesn't capture that soul that the band is trying to convey to the masses.

Honestly, this album leaves me wanting to hear the members other bands. They are great musicians they just can't seem to get it together long enough to make you believe in the goodness of Baby Teeth. If you like artists like Gavin DeGraw, Ben Folds, Elton John, etc. then you may dig this but be warned that this is more like a home demo compared to any of those artists' albums.

1.5/4