Touché Amoré and Pianos Become the Teeth release split album

Next to Searching for a Pulse/The Worth of the World, 2010’s collaborative split with La Dispute, Touché Amoré’s split EP with Pianos Become the Teeth is as logical as split releases come. Both bands have come to symbolize the movement jokingly deemed “the wave,” whose actual origins reflect the observation that bands falling under this umbrella term tend to all be friends with one another. 

The two tracks on this 7” nonetheless illustrate the striking musical commonalities between Touché Amoré and Pianos Become the Teeth. While each group retains its own identifiable sound, perhaps some influence has rubbed off on one another, and both songs are complementary not just in their lengthiness, but in their emotional resonance as well. 

At four minutes, “Gravity, Metaphorically” is Touché Amoré’s longest track to date. For a band that has previously expressed its preference for concision, “Gravity, Metaphorically” is a remarkable deviation. The first two minutes are very characteristic of Touché Amoré – speedy, aggressive, emotional hardcore. At the center of the song’s reflective, cynical lyrics is an allegory comparing vocalist Jeremy Bolm to a precarious building, bluntly underlined by the song’s forthright title. Midway through the song, following a subdued guitar interlude, the tempo shifts, at which point Bolm hammers in, “At least I tried” over a climactic crescendo. 

Much like the stellar closing track on the band’s 2011 sophomore effort The Lack Long After, Pianos Become the Teeth’s “Hiding” explores the melodic angle of post-hardcore, with clean vocals driving a progressive 3/3 rhythm. Vocalist Kyle Durfey is wistful and almost nostalgic, lyrically, and “Hiding” is an examination – or, more specifically, self-examination – of the trivial interactions that replace honest, meaningful conversation. “There’s no good in your eyes anymore,” sings Durfey. “It makes you almost miss the smell of smoke in your clothes.” 

The 7” is a joint release by both band’s respective labels, Topshelf Records and Deathwish Inc., with double-sided artwork designed by Touché Amoré guitarist Nick Steinhardt.