Warbling falsetto, breakneck guitars, a beatmaker that is shared with local popsters Boats and a brooding tone with plenty of hope all run rampant throughout this six song EP from Winnipeg quartet Animal Teeth. Opener “Borealis Buffalo” sounds like a lot of other bands that sound like a lot of ‘90s bands (in the right ways), but it sets the tone for the disc. The title track will hook into your subconscious, but it’s the epics (“Holly”, “Circles” and “Faust”) that make this a prairie classic. These three ambient-natured songs still manage to be radio-ready, with the latter two being sporadically peppered with enough guts to make any hardcore kid shit several large bricks. It’s indie rock: 2013, and Animal Teeth is at the head of the class.

Published in Volume 68, Number 9 of The Uniter (October 30, 2013)