THREE ROWS OF TEETH

Usually, Prog Rock comes in the band format. It's not that common to find solo artists in the Prog World. It's not that they don't exist, it's just that generally Prog Rock is a team effort where each part plays a vital role in one's sound, even if you have just one person in the band writing the songs.

In the solo world you have two kinds of artists: first, the ones that do everything by themselves because they want to have total control of their work (or maybe because they couldn't find the right people to have a band with). Second, the ones that rely on a fixed band or some good musician friends to have their own sound. On which side lies Tom Slatter music?

Tom Slatter is on the first side of the solo artists, the ones that do everything on their own. Three Rows Of Teeth (2013) is the musician's third album and my first contact with his music, but according to his own words, he tried to sound more Prog and more electric on this album. There's basically no info on the CD about the instruments and possible musicians, just that Tom did everything, so, that's it!

Three Rows of Teeth (2013) was released in March and follows in from his previous album Iron Bark (2011). The album is a steampunk narrative. But I couldn't find the kind of story was being told. There's NO info at all on the digipack and no booklet too. But the cover is a pretty damn good one. If you're not familiar with Tom's music you can download his previous works on Bandcamp in the 'pay what you want' model (tomslatter.bandcamp.com/).

'Three Rows Of Teeth', the title-track and also the opener is the most interesting piece of music I've heard this year so far. Full of time changes, great melodies and the instruments sound alive, as if a band is playing, not a solo artist. Great track! 'Mother's Been Talking To Ghosts Again' follows the same path as the opening track, a great Prog track with lots of hidden keyboards.

'Self Made Man', the third track, is more acoustic and a bit weird, with a bunch of noises popping out all the time. This track sounds as a solo effort really. 'The Engine That Played Through Their Honeymoon' is a waltz kind of song and it's a bit weak.

Fifth track, 'Dance Dance Dance' is one of my favorites on the album. In fact, my favorite side in Tom Slatter's music is when he plays the Prog, his acoustic side is a bit ordinary for me. 'These Tiny Things Are Haunting Me' comes in sequence and it's a very odd piece of music. It tries to combine several weird keyboards with a twisted drum beat, counterpoint guitars and melodic vocals.

If you listen to the album you'll notice that each two songs are a 'part', each two songs are kinda connected. So in the last part of the album nothing more natural than having a 3 parts song: 'The Time Traveler Suite'. Part 1 'What We Say Three Times Is True' is brilliant! In its 8:38 you'll have fast passages, great melodies and breaks within the song. Part 2 'Rise Another Leaf' is more melodic with acoustic guitars filling all the blank spaces. Part 3 'Love Letters And Entropy' the third and final part of the suite is once again on the twist side with many different moods and good strange vocals. But not without a good and clever break in the middle part with acoustic guitars. In the end returning to craziness. Tom Slatter's Three Rows Of Teeth (2013) is a great example of 'self-made' music where you can enjoy both complex and regular music with deep pleasure. It is also a very good stop for steampunk lovers. Tom himself is a lover of the theme.

Three Rows Of Teeth (2013) deserves at least a hearing on Bandcamp with attention, and if you do so, you'll probably buy it.

(Originally posted on progshine.net)