Give me a minute and I’ll give you an opinion. Give me ten dollars and I’ll give you a story. Your ten dollars would, however, be better spent on Canadian band Little Coyote and the introspective delirium that is their album “The Trouble With Teeth”.
Let’s talk details. There is a sense of unfolding drama pervading this album with the galactic constants of cascading guitars and minor chord melancholy forever present. This gives, or at least should give, the proceedings a feeling of enforced deliberation that is so often the inevitable companion of a one note performance dynamic. However, Little Coyote have seasoned their musical concoction with a near overdose of melodrama while Teagan Johnston ‘s voice is as much showtune as daytime soap opera and, in consequence, provides an effective means to drag the listener inwards towards intimacy and consequent reflection on the passing of time.
The songs themselves do not rely on the simplicity of melody for memorability yet the substituted structure and emotional intensity nonetheless induces something akin to addiction. I will also note that this is an album that gets better as it progresses. The first few songs drift by amiably enough but the real action doesn’t kick in until “Teeth Rot” and by the time “Lucy Get Blue” and “Electric” invade your ears, it becomes almost imperative to listen all the way through to the end. Now, that is an achievement in a time when attention spans are measured in seconds.
Being realistic, I don’t suppose that worshippers of the three minute pop song will find much to catch their attention here but the album fan might well find that the single minded pursuit of a musical ideal across ten tracks that Little Coyote demonstrate will more than adequately meet both their musical and dramatic needs.
Anyway, sign me up for I’m a believer. Yes, I am.
The album available from EggHunt Records or can be downloaded from Bandcamp and the usual digital outlets.