Everyone dreams of starting a band in school, but not often does this fantasy progress beyond local pub gigs or drunken bedroom jam sessions. Milk Teeth met at college in 2013, and from the get-go they were pretty bloody good.
“We did a few practices and wrote the tracks from Smiling Politely [their first EP],” explains guitarist and vocalist Joshua Bannister. “We went into the studio and recorded it all in a week and put it out… and it just went from there!”
With their drummer Olly Holbrook having just turned 18, these guys are clearly no veterans, but they’ve made impressive headway since forming less than two years ago. Last year alone saw them sign to Venn Records and touring non-stop./o:p
“Somehow we’ve managed to cover a lot of ground that it takes other bands a good few years to be able to cover. I think it’s right place, right time, right attitude and hard work,” says Josh, and he’s right.
This band’s hard-working punk attitude has enabled them to escape their hometown of Stroud for headlining tours and, this May, a European tour as main support to US punks Title Fight. On stage, Milk Teeth are loaded with punk rock confidence, hurtling through their sets without a hint of posturing. Their songs are great on record, but really come into their own in the flesh.
“What we have on record comes across a different way live,” Josh points out. “The songs still sound the same and it’s all still played the same but the way it’s performed and the live show is a whole separate thing. We really get to let loose!”
With an assault of boy-girl vocals, eschewing twee in favour of sharp and spiky, all wrapped in captivating fuzz, the sound will appeal to your 90s-loving dad, but also to your young siblings that are just getting into music.
“It’s the timeless thing,” Josh says of their influences. “Things like Smashing Pumpkins and all that early grunge stuff is quite heavy in our sound… and Olly listens pretty much purely to Slipknot!”
You can hear all this on Milk Teeth’s latest EP, Sad Sack, the latest part of this band’s plan to keep writing, keep playing and keep living the punk rock dream.
“The new stuff is more grown-up. We’re a punk band, so it’s still loud and noisy, but it’s also dark and emotional,” Josh states. “Nobody really believes a great band would come out of Stroud… but here we are!”
SAD SACK IS OUT NOW VIA VENN RECORDS/o:p
