WRAITH

Teeth of the Sea is the name of a psychedelic/space rock band founded in London in 2006. The band was formed by Mike Bourne (bass, synth), John Hirst (drums, but not involved in this album), Jimmy Martin (guitar, vocals), and Sam Barton (trumpet). In 2019, they released their 6th album which was called "Wraith". Valentina Magaletti also provides drums and percussion on two of the tracks, of which there are 9 total, with a run time of almost 47 minutes.

"I'd Rather, Jack" (4:55) starts off the album with programmed drums, percussion and other crazy noises in a moderately fast beat, with other glitchy sounds like voices and such. The addition of the trumpet gives the music a more organic sound and works well with the music. Later, the synth comes in a provides some melodic relief, and this is followed with a heavy guitar solo. When the trumpet comes back in, it works in contrast to the dirty guitar sounds. All the while, the constant beat plays in the background, but with everything else going on, you never realize that they are programmed again until the end. "Hiraeth" (7:07) is much slower and pensive, again the percussion is programmed, but the trumpet takes the melody right away, and you can almost picture someone playing it on a dark street corner. Later, the trumpet gets layered with synths, giving it a metallic sound. A slow guitar with a surf rock attitude comes in and is followed by a muted trumpet. A sudden heavy beat and chunky guitar suddenly comes in around the 4 minute mark, and the entire mood is changed. What results is a unique and intriguing sound as things intensify, and everything has a dark and dirty feel to it.

"Burn of the Shieling" (4:40) begins with a minimal feel, with the trumpet doing a repeating riff and keys joining in creating a dark chorus. The trumpet finally comes in at full volume and low frequency synths keep things on the dark side. Layers build and the song gets more emotional as it crescendos to the end. "Fortean Steed" (3:59) is eerie and atmospheric as synth effects swirl and the dark guitar plucks out a pensive riff. Distant vocals sing wordlessly and softly in harmonized layers, and the volume builds on the vocals as everything else remains in the background and fades to warbly chimes. "VISITOR" (8:21) goes for a electronic feel with fast moving synth loops. These layers continue with a melody that slowly emerges to the forefront, a choral effect whose slowness counteracts against the fast moving loops. Things continue to build layer upon layer. At 3 minutes, the guitar starts to disturb everything with unsettling sounds and textures, and percussion finally kicks in just before the 4 minute mark. All through this, the synth loop continues along repetitively. Trumpet comes in later pushing things along. More layers of all instruments get added in and intensity kicks up several notches as melodic and dissonant sounds mix together. It all reaches a climax at 6 minutes, with a surprisingly victorious feeling which continues until the end.

"Her Wraith" (6:38) begins with far off chimes, and soon synths and keys bring in pensive sounds and riffs. Dark voices speak deep in the mix whispering undecipherable words. The trumpet plays along pensively. Bass and drums come in well into the 3rd minute, but things stay slow and pensive. The trumpet eventually comes through at full volume providing a nice melody against the mysterious background. "Wraiths in the Wall" (0:26)is a quick, swirling track with processed sounds winding around each other, which quickly goes into the next track "Our Love Can Destroy This Whole Fucking World" (3:36). This one takes a looping synth riff and expands on it. A whining and sustained guitar adds a layer of unsettling darkness to it all while fluttering percussion ebbs and flows. "Gladiators Ready" (7:09) ends the album with pounding drums, churning guitar and a dark keyboard melody. This slowly builds for a while, then adds another layer of dark guitar texture to build intensity. This pick up in volume and tempo as it continues with subtle changes in tone, and it builds and builds in pitch until it reaches its apex and then reinforces the main melody of the keyboards.

This entire album has a very nice and unique sound that I really enjoy. It mixes electronics, post rock influences and psychedelic sounds to create something almost new and different. It all ends up sounding interesting and fascinating, with splashes of jazz provided by the trumpet. It all works very well together as these three musicians buitld something that sound more like a much larger ensemble. The music is enjoyable and surprisingly fresh, though at times it can become a little repetitive, but what the band does during these times is alternate sounds and textures to keep things moving. Overall, however, the album is very enjoyable and innovative. Fair warning, however, the music on the album isn't the psychedelic/space rock in a retro sense, it has more of an electronic vibe to it, but retains that organic sound with the dirty guitar and the trumpet. It all works together quite well.