Gabriel & The Hounds - Kiss Full Of Teeth

‘Kiss Full Of Teeth’ is the debut album from Takka Takka frontman, Gabe Levine under his Gabriel & The Hounds moniker. Levine says of the title that as unpleasant as a kiss full of teeth actually is, sometimes you’re just happy to have been kissed at all. This idea is represented quite faithfully over the course of the whole album. There is nothing immediate about ‘Teeth’. The songs take a few listens to unfold but each listen reveals something more gorgeous upon reflection. Just when you’re tempted to write it off completely, you’ll be tempted to revisit the album and eventually you’ll appreciate it as an expression of something else entirely; a heaving sigh of disappointment at not being able to appreciate the sentiment behind that awkward kiss.

For the most part, the album’s aesthetic of choice is organically folksy chamber pop. There are occasional detours into soft indie rock as seen on ‘The World Unfolds’ but generally the chamber arrangements gently sparkle like sunlight on a crystal clear lake. Interestingly for an album with as many instruments as ‘Teeth’, it feels quite understated. Herein lies the magic though, because if you’re not paying attention, the album’s beauty will disappear like the last moments of a sunset. This aspect will divide those who fall in love with this album and those who quickly forget it.

‘Wire and Stone’ starts off sullenly and builds towards grandiosity before coming down again. However, tasteful unassumingness aside, ‘What Good Would That Do?’ is the album’s bonafide highlight. It’s pseudo-bluesy stomp progresses towards a quiet crescendo, which is punctuated by horns and tremolo guitars. So many of the strong songs on ‘Teeth’ have this quality; a melodic progression which takes you with it before gently putting you down.

Like arctic water on burning flesh, the first few seconds may be uncomfortable, but then you feel reprieve and before you know it you want more. Such is the way that ‘Teeth’ reveals itself to you. Levine has done a wonderful job of creating a work whose humble beauty easily can captivate you if you let it.