Pianos Become the Teeth – Drift (Review)

Wait for Love was and still is an album that rests very close to my heart. After the heaviness of Keep You, it radiated optimism (at least that’s what I felt) and struck a lot of nerves for me. Given that my anticipation for Drift was enormous. Drift is described by the band as an album that feels like a long night. This rings true as you are never the same person after you’ve laid down to sleep at the end of a day. It is another step in the musical progression of Pianos Become the Teeth.

The opening track “Out of Sight” finds yourself rooted in your day, to stick with the album-like-a-night-metaphor. You’ve just laid down, tired, but the carousel of thought is still spinning and takes up speed as it progresses until it stop and starts again with “Genevieve“.

The prior released”Genevieve” shares the same vibe as “Easy” or “Buckley“. Those songs seem to spiral and drift from a relatively “settled” beginning towards ever-growing inner turmoil. The drum sound here and on the album in general is one of the biggest changes compared to its predecessors. Wait for Love and Keep You had a very strong and forward-pushing drum sound, like Defeater on Atonement for a comparison. The drums on Drift rather tend into the Radiohead direction. Listen to the album Hail to the Thief for example and you get the idea.

“The Days” is a song that would have fit perfectly on Wait for Love. The feel is the same like in the trilogy of “Charisma“, “Bitter red” and “Love on repeat“. “The Days” is like a musical sequel.

“Mouth” dissolves at the end, a thought articulated at first, but the more the thinking processes, the more you lose track. The line “We are not who we used to be” is the quintessence of the song and it couldn’t be more fitting, having the musical journey of Pianos Become the Teeth in mind. It is some sort of break, a shift within the album, it gets calm and quiet, just like the following “Skiv“.

The following “Hate Chase” almost feels like it could have been a Title Fight song around the Floral Green era. Definitely the most uplifting song on this album followed by the closing “Buckley” and “Pair“.

“Buckley” and “Pair” are my favorite moments on this album. “Buckley” has such a beautiful, subtle melody to it while it swells and swells to a hymnic conclusion. This song has the ability to put a big brick in your stomach but at the same time lift you up when gravity seems to get the better of you. The closing “Pair” is like everything is falling into its place. The journey the album took you on ends here, a warm feeling surrounds you and leaves you satisfied and fulfilled.

Drift is Pianos Become the Teeth taking another artistic turn. It is maybe the most introverted album by them today but it will surely get deep into your skin too.