Bug Teeth – ‘Lucky Me, Lucky Mud’ EP review: a first-outing of baffling experience
Somewhere in between the DIY venues and red-bricked houses that make up the Leeds music scene, five little eggs lay on a leaf. For the last five years, Bug Teeth have been cocooned, honing and perfecting the intricacies and idiosyncrasies of their dream-pop ambience.
Initially the moniker for front-person PJ’s solo work, the name has since expanded to include four more bugs, each of them contributing to this sonic synthesis as if they were always supposed to be there. Now, Bug Teeth are ready to emerge and stretch their wings with their first vinyl release, Lucky Me, Lucky Mud.
The EP is now available on clear or blue wax, a physical representation of their evolution so far and a step that felt particularly significant to the band. “My experience of being friends with these people has been to do with sitting in a bedroom listening to music on a disc, so to have the name on our own personal thing is very heartwarming,” Adam states.
According to synth player Alex, Lucky Me, Lucky Mud sounds like “a band trying to figure out how to be a band.” Upon first listening, it’s a difficult claim to believe and one that might even spark envy in their peers. The EP is entirely lacking the chaos or messiness that should characterise the process of turning a solo venture into a group project. Each entry in the short collection of songs seems so considered and so refined.
Perhaps due to their pre-existing friendships and collaborations in various combinations prior to Bug Teeth, the band have achieved a coherency few others could hope for on their first outing as a group. Lucky Me, Lucky Mud is filled to the brim with intention. By its end, the five-piece have not only figured out how to be a band, they appear to have figured out what it means to be Bug Teeth.
The opening moments of the EP appear more tentative. The delicate and glistening ‘Superlunary’ has a runtime that barely surpasses two minutes, but somehow, it invites us into the world of Bug Teeth. It flows and floats effortlessly, interweaving soft synths into a glistening waterfall of sound. The instrumental intro paves the way for ‘Ice-9’, the first demonstration of PJ’s lyrical prowess and undoubtedly the EP’s hit track.
Their lyrics are at once vague and calculated, expansive and intimate. Addressing the listener, PJ reassures us, “The world looks better in headlights, smaller than you think, but bigger than it seems in your dreams.” Delivered through their echoing, layered vocals, it’s hard not to believe them. Eventually, the unrelenting percussion and intricate guitars give way to a more minimal bridge, but as PJ declares, “Cold as ice nine,” the instrumentals plunge into a heavenly electronic ambience.
‘Virgo’ is equally atmospheric, pairing weighty soundscapes with cathartic twangs to soundtrack words of loss and self-doubt. Capricorn rising and planets colliding seem to symbolise more personal emotions, juxtaposed with intimate confessions like, “I thought it would be OK, but it’s frightening, I don’t want you to go away, but I’m not enough to make you stay.”
PJ’s lyrical aptitude continues throughout the EP. The quintessential ‘Little Insects’ features imagery adjacent to their namesake – “All those little creatures with gaps in their mouths”. Meanwhile, the epic and contemplative closer, ‘Kafka’, comes the closest to a glimpse at one of the band’s jam sessions. Terrifying lyrics and Krautrock are bookended by a two-minute-long intro and outro, as the song clamours to reach nine minutes.
Lucky Me, Lucky Mud provides far more promise than most band debuts. It’s a considered collage of Bug Teeth’s influences and experimentation so far, a welcome whirlwind of synths, electronica, shoegaze and dream-pop. Receiving a glimpse into their early workings and a look at what’s to come, it’s listeners who are the lucky ones.
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