OUT NOW: Tlooth – S/T SM072
Tlooth returns with a new chapter: a self-titled debut full-length steeped in duality, embracing both lo-fi grit and unexpected beauty. When a band falls apart, it usually stays that way—but for Tlooth, dissolution became the catalyst for something new. The result is a record that retains the raw edges of lo-fi recording while pushing into new sonic territories, balancing the immediacy of live tracking with the textural depth of layered production.
“There was a moment when Tlooth wasn’t a band anymore,” the band admits. After a period of near-collapse, Joe (guitar), Pat (bass), and Dave (percussion) found themselves at a crossroads. Then David (vocals, guitar) witnessed what could have been their final show. “I stepped forward if they ever decided to do it again,” David says. “We didn’t have to think about it long,” Pat adds and laughs. With renewed energy, the four-piece quickly set to work, writing and recording their debut album over the summer and fall of 2024.
The album itself is a study in contrasts—recorded in fragments yet cohesive, embracing imperfection yet deeply intentional. “Recording for this album was in piecemeal,” Joe recalls. “Drums and bass were tracked live in Dave’s nonagon cabin—oh, and fujara as well. I recorded guitars at home or the DIY space Pat and I and friends run called Pleasuretone; David recorded vocals, guitar, and synth at home. Once it was all mixed, Dan Angel mastered everything at his new studio in Germantown.”
Tlooth’s rhythm section is jazz-strong, their guitars roughed-up, and their vocals unflinchingly honest—a sound as restless as the ideas that fuel it. “We’ve always been drawn to sci-fi, the relentless news cycle, the absurdity of end-stage capitalism… aliens,” David shares, reflecting on their wide-ranging influences.
That same sense of playfulness and unpredictability is embedded in their name. Taken from the absurdist novel by American experimental author Harry Mathews, it reflects the band’s wandering, rule-bending approach to music. “Like the book, we stray freely, playing at games that, in the end, may have no purpose past a joke we tell ourselves,” Joe concludes.
With this release, Tlooth is also taking action beyond the music. Proceeds will support Phillips Black, a nonprofit dedicated to providing legal aid for incarcerated individuals facing the harshest penalties under U.S. law. “We believe in a future without prisons,” Joe says simply.
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