When Tooth Gore released their ‘No Fighting In Doo-Wop’ single in November 2024, the track immediately stood out among an ocean of digital wares. Unlike a lot of young artists that looked to the past for inspiration, Tooth Gore mainman Kobi Joe had no interest in recycling grungy riffs. Nor did this single draw from punk. Kobi’s interests stemmed from much further back. The song’s verses mixed classic elements of garage rock with a perfect surf rock melody, allowing a vocal to bring something accessible, despite being fuzzed up to hell. The strident tune sounded like early Weezer channelling old Spector works, hitting the listener with a welcome immediacy. In many ways, that would’ve made a great track in itself, but a delayed hook brought an extra element of musical magic. Bursting forth with a classic doo-wop influence straight from a world of pre-Beatle coolness, Tooth Gore hit their potential new fans with a killer melody. Then, by using the title for a final slam-dunk, something that’s massively catchy was left to create that all important last impression. Everything may well have stemmed from three very different ideas thrown into a musical blender, but with more than enough chutzpah applied, Kobi gave everyone a four minute treat that promised a lot more greatness in the future.
That track makes a great centrepiece for Tooth Gore’s ‘For Losers, By Losers’ album, but beyond its self depreciating title, it’s actually a full length listen that offers several other tunes that are just as enjoyable.
‘Fungus Actually’ throws a spotlight onto some of Tooth Gore’s quirkier traits by presenting a verse where disjoined guitar riffs supply a really punchy sound. In some ways, such a spiky approach feels a little distracting at first, opting for volume over everything else, but Kobi’s knack for a smart arrangement offsets the relative lack of melody here, making the full sounding chorus appear even stronger. Once the guitars are allowed to bloom into a flowing riff, a strong blend of indie rock and surf rock comes together in a way that sounds like a collision of the best Weezer numbers and a melodic punk band unveiling a very retro heart. To avoid this sounding like two ideas glued down the middle, a great vocal has been applied, and the soaring melody that drives this track’s strongest moments really shows off Tooth Gore’s pop-ish side, even though the chunky guitars often do their best to keep that hidden. The reverb applied to the guitar during ‘Lila’ moves further in a surf rock direction – and sounds great throughout – but, interestingly, TG’s surf obsessions aren’t the big draw here. The lasting appeal comes from a strident bassline, pulling influence from a few 60s sources and a chunky middle eight where everything drops into a wall of sound that would make Black Francis raise an eyebrow. Factor in an echoing vocal where Kobi slides from his usual indie rock tones and into a vaguely Robert Smith-esque wail in places, and this becomes the kind of huge rock tune that sounds better with each successive spin.
During ‘So’, some of the surf-y elements have been diluted once more, but there’s just as much of a sunny feel supplied by a massive wall of jangling guitars, as if Kobi is channelling old indie hits from 1990 then applying even more of a 60s slant. It’s a style that really works as part of this album, as the uptempo arrangement allows for a really strong vocal, and that, in turn, powers a really radio friendly hook where intermittent whoas add an infectious quality. It’s a track that thrives on pulling the best from great influences rather than originality, but this one man band still manages to enthused enough to make this an album highlight. Despite possessing one of the album’s more out there titles, ‘I Hate My Collarbone’ manages to be one of the more sedate tunes on offer when Tooth Gore drops into an obvious derivative of Pixies’ ‘Where Is My Mind?’… If you’re happy to accept that such an obvious influence can still lead to a great listen in its own right, the chugging guitars and moody vocals will bring a wave of nostalgia that’s very strong, and as before, Kobi’s interest in harmony vocals offsets the fuzzier elements of this tune rather effectively. Despite being released as the last digital single ahead of the album itself, it isn’t ‘For Losers…’ most enduring track, but those who’ve already found a love for the Tooth Gore sound will certainly hear something appealing.
At the noisier end of the Tooth Gore musical scale, ‘Black Cat’ opens with slowly strummed, echoing guitar lines which carry a faint hint of Pixies’ more melodic numbers, before exploding into a slab of indie punk riffery that’s as much about volume as it is energy. Although the all round inventiveness of ‘No Fighting…’ isn’t present, the arrangement is tight, and Kobi shares an enthusiastic, expletive driven vocal that proves to be unexpectedly catchy. Possibly unwelcomely so, since it’s not the sort of thing you’d want to find yourself randomly breaking into in public. Beneath the surface, you’ll find a massively punchy bassline that applies even more of an aggressive edge, proving that even though this track has a little more of a knockabout quality, the musicianship is always pleasingly confident and really tight. Quietening down, ‘This Song Is Stolen’ lifts brazenly from old numbers in the mould of ‘Tears On My Pillow’, allowing Tooth Gore’s echoing guitar lines to take centre stage once more. That alone makes it a great listen, but with lyrics like “this song is stolen from someone who stole it from someone else” and about “being stuck here in the same place” providing very knowing winks to blatant recycling, it’s one of the album’s more “fun” numbers. It’s cheeky, sure, but never veers into the realms of novelty, and with the second half of the arrangement introducing a wall of distorted guitars, it sits very naturally against some of this album’s noisier fare. In terms of obvious pastiche, it’s not quite in the same league as Tom Allalone & The 78s’ brilliant (and drastically overlooked) ‘This Teenage Crush’, but for fans of the late 50s style this seeks to revive – at least in part – it’ll be an instant favourite.
Elsewhere, the speed driven ‘Uncomfortable’ allows Tooth Gore to cut loose on another semi-punky riff, whilst clinging onto a beloved garage rock sound, ending up sharing something that sounds like a weird mash up of noisier aspects of Bob Mould’s ‘Blue Hearts’ and the impossibly overhyped Royal Blood, but those looking for something more sophisticated will find a greater love for ‘Firebird’ which does a far smarter job in terms of sharing something punchy. It kicks off with a great garage rock riff, then powers forward with a world of crashing rhythms in a perfect blend that blurs the edges between noisy indie and melodic punk. Then, over a Wedding Present-esque backdrop, the vocals take on an unexpectedly croony quality, but like The Smoking Popes back in the 90s, it’s the contrast of styles here that helps maintain interest. Eventually allowing the wall of guitars to fall away to allow for a more sedate middle eight, the vocal takes centre stage, and this really sells a strong track. Holding the number’s main hook back until the last possible moment also increases a feeling of tension before allowing this crashy number to go out with a bang.
There are times when ‘For Losers, By Losers’ feels like a grab bag of influences rather than a flowing, coherent disc, but in some ways, that’s the point. As ‘No Fighting…’ suggested several months prior to this release, Tooth Gore has no interest in placing restrictions upon their musical landscape, and this twelve track album plays as a strong showcase for a variety of talents drawing from indie, retro alternative and surf rock. Everything here is enjoyable, but ‘So’, ‘Lila’, ‘No Fighting In Doo-Wop’ and ‘This Song Is Stolen’ give the whole album a huge lift. The bulk of the rest of the material will click over time, however, making this a worthy addition to any eclectic record collection.
May/June 2025
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