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Baby Teeth

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About Me


Tune in every Monday for a new, free Baby Teeth mp3 with a detailed description of the composition process from Baby Teeth frontmeister, Abraham Levitan! Leave comments and critiques and interact directly with the band...See you there!

Since their 2004 formation, Baby Teeth have proven that bedroom pop and huge hooks belong together. The band has been compared to a host of legendary pop eccentrics: Todd Rundgren, Andy Pratt, Elvis Costello. And yet, it’s Baby Teeth’s unique appropriation of classic-rock icons that sets them apart from other indie-pop acts. “We’ve never played with a band that sounded so much like Queen,” remarked the Fiery Furnaces’ Eleanor Friedberger after an early show. Even while sharing the stage with such indie-rock luminaries as the Fiery Furnaces, Silver Jews, Pit er Pat and Man Man, Baby Teeth have remained true to a singular vision: the intimacy of one lonely heart, shot through an arena-sized cannon.This spring, Baby Teeth releases its third disc, The Simp (Lujo). While the new album’s lavish arrangements nod to the pop of the 60s and 70s, the lyrics are direct and emotionally bare. Fittingly, songwriter Abraham Levitan is recording under his own name for the first time, abandoning the pseudonym, Pearly Sweets, that he’d used since his teens. (He’d taken the moniker initially because he thought it sounded “more New Orleans” than his given name, and he was probably right.) The album opens with the title track, a tale of a depressive, introverted teenager trying in vain to connect through music: “Claustrophobe living in my room / I prayed that life would consume / My song / And push me along.” In vintage Baby Teeth fashion, the downer lyrics lean against a relentlessly pounding, sing-along groove. The album’s centerpiece is the pocket epic “Looking for a Road”, a wry take on the futility of listening to others’ advice: “They say be energetic baby be yourself / But what they really mean is fuck the pain away like everyone else / Selling what you got but it never sells.” “That song is so excellent,” remarked Silver Jews’ David Berman, “I can’t believe it was written by a contemporary American.”In recording The Simp, Baby Teeth worked with an outside producer for the first time. They chose avant-garde musician Blue Hawaii, a member of Bablicon, Need New Body, and Icy Demons. The collaboration was charmed. For every big pop chorus, there’s a left-of-center twist: the hard blues swagger of “Diaghalev Was Right” veers into a meticulously crafted clarinet-and-violin passage, while the throb of “Intolerable” erupts into a free-jazz-meltdown coda reminiscent of Fun House. The Simp is an album of remarkable refinement, uniting the pop songcraft of The Baby Teeth Album (2005) with the eccentric home-recording ethos of the band’s 2006 EP For the Heathers. A pairing of highway-wide hooks and intimate lyrics, it takes just a few spins to carry you away.

"Heather via JC" music video"Baby Teeth is another exception to the current rule in the Chicago music scene. The innovative songs on “The Simp” (Lujo) are a pleasure to behold and introduce listeners to one of the most captivating bands on the scene. Without a clunker to be found, this is the kind of album debut bands must lie awake at night dreaming of creating. Irresistible dance tunes such as “Swim Team,” “The Birds Are Crying” and “Intolerable,” prove that Baby Teeth has their priorities straight, while “Taste The Wine,” with its Fleetwood Mac reference, shows they have bite." - Chicago Free PressRead Harp Magazine's "Fresh Faces" feature!Read "The Simp" review from Alarm PressRead "The Simp" review from Onion's A.V. ClubRead "The Simp" review from Pop MattersRead the Time Out Chicago review of "The Simp" record release party Baby Teeth on Sound As Language blogBaby Teeth on Some Velvet BlogBaby Teeth on Muruch blog

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Music:

Member Since: 5/18/2005
Band Website: babyteethmusic.com
Band Members: ABRAHAM LEVITAN - Lead vocals, keyboards. JIM "Dallas" COOPER - Vocals, bass guitar. PETER ANDREADIS - Vocals, drums... and introducing MICHAEL LYONS - guitar.
Influences: Fleetwood Mac, Elvis Costello, Boney M, Psychedelic Furs, ZZ Top, R. Kelly, Devo, Curtis Mayfield, Bee Gees, The Babys, Diana Ross, Burt Bacharach, Dr. Dre, Black Sabbath, Dione Warwick, Isley Brothers, The Who, Prince, Hall and Oates, Stax Records, De La Soul, Todd Rundgren, Queen, Steely Dan, Rolling Stones, Harry Nilsson, Spoon, Silver Jews, Queen, David Bowie, Rick James, and Wings.
Sounds Like:Swinging on a star.
Record Label: Lujo Records (www.lujorecords.com)
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

Want a limited edition Baby Teeth t-shirt???

If you're interested in getting a limited edition, super cool piece of Baby Teeth merch, then check out this shirt that you can buy at the online boutique called "The Giant Peach."These shirts were de...
Posted by Baby Teeth on Tue, 17 Jul 2007 09:09:00 PST

"52 Teeth" Baby Teeth mp3 blog - FREE MUSIC EVERY MONDAY!

Hello friends,We are very excited about our latest internet experiment and want to share the news with you!We've started a blog called "52 Teeth" that will be a place for us to post a new song every M...
Posted by Baby Teeth on Mon, 16 Jul 2007 10:07:00 PST

Baby Teeth video in film fest

The video we made for "Heather via JC" from the "For The Heathers" EP that came out last year will be featured in the Chicago Short Film Brigade show at Hideout on July 19th.The video stars the Grand ...
Posted by Baby Teeth on Sun, 08 Jul 2007 10:30:00 PST

Record Release Show

Thanks to everybody who came out to "The Simp" record release show at Schubas on March 17. We had a great time and it was a thrill for us to get back on stage in front of a Chicago audience after a 7 ...
Posted by Baby Teeth on Sun, 25 Mar 2007 09:21:00 PST

Radio Free Chicago podcast

Click the link here for Radio Free Chicago's podcast interview: http://radiofreechicago.typepad.com/reredesign/2007/03/rfc_i nterview_b.htmlThanks to Carlo from RFC for all the help!
Posted by Baby Teeth on Fri, 16 Mar 2007 12:43:00 PST

New guitar in line-up!

Baby Teeth is proud to announce the addition of Mike Sturgis on guitar in the new live line-up. We've been hammering away at the songs from "The Simp" and they are sounding ferocious. Mike has been a ...
Posted by Baby Teeth on Sat, 30 Dec 2006 07:51:00 PST

Pitchfork Infinite Mixtape

Hey everybody! The title track from Baby Teeth's forthcoming album "The Simp" was added to Pitchfork's "Infinite Mixtape" today. Here is the link:http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/page/news/Infinite_Mixta. ..
Posted by Baby Teeth on Tue, 05 Dec 2006 09:05:00 PST

Africa

No, Baby Teeth is not taking a trip to play the continent of Africa, but we are learning the Toto song "Africa" for a wedding we are playing later this month. Our label head Erik is marrying his sweet...
Posted by Baby Teeth on Fri, 03 Nov 2006 12:56:00 PST

It's all true (in tennis)

(Peter) It's true that Abraham and I have been playing some tennis lately, but I won't say that I've been kicking his ass. He's got incredible reach, because he's so tall. My advantage in my own game ...
Posted by Baby Teeth on Tue, 17 Oct 2006 11:01:00 PST

Good friends

(by Abraham) Here's the stuff I get to do today: Work on a new bio. Arrange a new photo shoot. Think about getting a Baby Teeth credit card. Being in a band sure is... musical. No, actually my mo...
Posted by Baby Teeth on Tue, 10 Oct 2006 08:46:00 PST