Teeth Kids, a six-piece band hailing from Chicago, finds its sound somewhere between the brutal weight of sludge, the organic feel of noise rock, and the raw intensity of post-hardcore. They’ve just unleashed an A/A side that sounds like a sonic intersection where OXBOW meets KOWLOON WALLED CITY, crashes into CHAT PILE, and spins off into the atmospheric realms of MEWITHOUTYOU. This is a band for fans of BREATHER RESIST, THE CHARIOT, and KEN MODE—names that only scratch the surface of the noise they’re making.
Teeth Kids is composed of a diverse lineup, each member bringing a unique element to their intense, multi-layered sound: Cam Daigle (vocals, they/them), Clementine Baker (bass, they/them), Cooper Glodoski (drums, he/him), Emily Moore (guitar, she/her), June Doom (synth, she/her), and Sawyer Hildebrandt (guitar, he/him). Cam and Clementine, in particular, offered deep insights into the band’s formation and creative process.
Cam Daigle reflect on the band’s beginnings: “We bonded in a Discord that was formed just pre-Covid, and ended up being our lifeline throughout the pandemic. We found we overlapped in all sorts of interests: Alien Resurrection, early-2000s hardcore, fuzz pedals, Evangelion, unsettling noise, Cronenberg, the list goes on. We seek to reach down into the core feeling that drives all of us to stay alive & keep pushing on and connect with people who also need to feel those ways.”
This shared connection over their eclectic interests laid the foundation for a sound that is as emotionally raw as it is musically complex.
Clementine Baker share the story of how the band truly took shape: “There were these like, whispered references to a secret metal project that Emily and Sawyer had worked on over the pandemic that they both annoyingly refused to share with any of us. Eventually, I was stubborn enough about it that I got them to share those incomplete demos and agree to get a bunch of us into a room to just play around with them and see if we felt like band versions added anything to that gnarly pile of demos and ideas. Teeth Kids grew into its own thing over a long period of starts and stops but (as far as I’m aware) those demos were still the jumping-off point for a lot of our stuff.”
The band’s unique creative process also stood out during their early days.
Clementine* recall, “I think we played together for, like, six months or something before we even asked a drummer to play with us. We would just meet up, tool around with ideas, and plug someone’s laptop into the PA for a drum track to play along with. It was really weird and loose and creative and fun, and I think we still try pretty hard to maintain that energy.”
When it comes to the visual elements of their work, the band’s talents extend far beyond just their music.
Cam point out that their single cover art was created by bandmate Emily Moore, saying, “Our single cover art is from an 11×14” mixed media collage by Emily, laid out for the album by Sawyer.” Emily offers her perspective on the artwork: “A discontinuous landscape assembled from an unfinished drawing buried under acrylic and cut paper. A place and time bereft of both joy and purpose, from which networks of limbs reach towards the void. The gravitational pull of inevitability.”
Clementine further elaborate on the importance of this piece: “We’re in the incredibly lucky position of being a band where basically everyone is a fantastically talented visual artist as well as musical. We have this huge well of existing work and so many people eager to make new things that we can pull from and work from, but this specific piece just has always really felt right in-step with the band for me. It captures all this life and existence from Emily’s surroundings but still finds a way to blend it all down into this desperate, miserable energy.”
Beyond TEETH KIDS, the band members are involved in several other creative projects.
Cam Daigle and Cooper Glodoski are also part of a three-piece noise rock group called SEAXES, which features Ron Petzke (BONGRIPPER) on bass. SEAXES has a couple of releases out on The Ghost Is Clear Records.
Emily Moore has a solo black metal project, FETISH MINE, that recently released a demo and will be performing live soon, with Clementine on bass. Emily also has multiple solo electronic releases as YORDA and was part of an emoviolence band called PARRHESIA.
Sawyer Hildebrandt creates ambient music under the moniker HILD.
June Doom has an upcoming album with her eponymous electronic/industrial project and some previous releases here.
Clementine Baker plays bass and guitar for several Chicago-based projects, including LATTER. They mention being in too many bands but are more than willing to share the full list if anyone is interested.
As TEETH KIDS continues to make waves with their aggressive and emotionally charged sound, they also invite you to check out their nominations for the year’s best albums and releases. Each member has contributed their personal picks, and you’ll find their recommendations below.
Cam:
Shellac – To All Trains
“Steve Albini is one of my musical heroes. A great example of a dude who started out an edgelord and then learned & grew both as a person and an artist who understood how to keep punching up, not down. This album rips and sounds incredible, like all the other Shellac records. Nobody can snarl like Steve.”
Clem:
Excrucis – There Are Collectivities That Devour Souls
“I basically only listen to screamo these days and this year has been absurdly good already, so this was tough to narrow down. This one is just so fucking good though, and my friends made it so y’know, I’m proud of them. It just scratches every itch I look for in this sort of thing and good lord what a hell of an album to go out on. Plus, they put a song with breakbeats out on Zegema Beach Records and that’s worth like 1200 Cool Points. RIP excrucis, excrucis forever.”
Cooper:
Cusp – Thanks So Much
“When we talk about Cusp the word ‘effortless’ gets thrown around a lot. They are just incredibly good at making and playing great music. Heavy in the right places and catchy sometimes to the point of discomfort. Also they are all the nicest people.”
Emily:
Uboa – Impossible Light
“the terror of continuing to be alive”
June:
Challengers [MIXED] by Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, Mariqueen Maandig Reznor, and Boys Noize
“Challengers [MIXED] was a gift I didn’t know was coming to me. As a die hard nin/HTDA fan and Trent Reznor acolyte, the steady flow of solid film scores in the absence of nin/HTDA albums is always a joy, however Challengers was different. Challengers was/is the missing How To Destroy Angels follow up we never got since 2013’s Welcome Oblivion. Hearing Mariqueen Maandig’s both poppy and ethereal vocals all over Trent & Atticus beats again turned an incredible score into some of the best jams of the summer. Hearing Trent & Mariqueen duet about threesomes on Compress/Repress is everything I could ever want from goth mommy and daddy. Add Boys Noize into the MIXED version for some 2014 era EDM stylings and it checks every box I need to both rage and vibe.”
Sawyer:
Sumac – The Healer
“I’ve been so thoroughly into Sumac since their 2015 debut that there is essentially no world in which I’d choose anything different, but The Healer truly feels like the strongest realization of the ideas they’ve been working with for nearly a decade: movements of free-flowing improv and textural exploration weaved dextrously among seismically heavy riffs and unrelenting noise, resulting in an experience that’s crushing, haunting, and uplifting in equal measure.”
