The post-punk scene has thrived in recent years, with many excellent artists and bands delivering some of the finest music this genre has witnessed over the years. Still, only a few are capable of crafting emotionally resonant, thoughtful, impressive music by breaking all the rules and shapeshifting boundaries of the genre. If you paid close attention to what’s happening in the contemporary scene, you’ll notice that many acts either overly exploit their influences, mimic something the greats of the genre released decades ago, or experiment too much to the point it doesn’t sound like post-punk anymore. Thankfully, there are bands like Dinosaur Beard whose music avoids all the cliches and stands out from anything you could hear on streaming platforms nowadays. With “Symbology Of Teeth,” their latest standalone single, recently released via all streaming platforms, they demonstrate a fresh, unique, innovative, exciting face of post-punk music by blending thoughtful songwriting, composing, arranging, and producing abilities with the finest qualities this genre has to offer. Perhaps post-punk dominates the most, as the duo incorporates all those fundamental elements of the genre during the entire song, but do not be surprised if you stumble upon other complementary music genres, thoughtfully implemented along the way. You’ll notice how alternative, indie rock, psychedelic rock, and psychedelic pop found their way into this marvelous sonic equation, and perhaps you’ll probably discover even more after repeated listens. These additional elements serve as more than necessary enhancements, accentuations, decorations, and other details that unquestionably uplift this song on an entirely new level while the duo simultaneously remains loyal to the primary sonic direction. Therefore, these experimentations with many complementary genres, approaches, and techniques resulted in a catchy, memorable, engaging track that will not only appeal to the post-punk fans but also to anyone who appreciates cleverly assembled and flawlessly performed music.
Lyrically, “Symbology Of Teeth” is a profoundly reflective work, examining awakening through loss. It examines how unexpected opportunities arise after the collapse, especially after identity, certainty, and structure dissolve. It tackles various sentiments, moods, situations, and circumstances, making it a highly relatable piece that will immediately resonate with the audience. The duo draws inspiration from Carl Jung’s The Red Book and Jungian ideas surrounding individuation, symbolism, and the unconscious, so this track also shares a philosophical stance on the mentioned theme. Sonically, “Symbology Of Teeth” arrives with a perfect structure, garnered with many profoundly detailed segments, brilliant ideas, and outstanding orchestrations. First of all, you’ll notice how vocal performance elevates the entire composition to new heights, commands attention, and guides you through each segment. The soulful, sincere, confident, emotional, and powerful vocal harmonies seamlessly balance low, mid, and high notes, emphasizing everything Dinosaur Beard intended to achieve with this song. Besides decorating all those segments and instrumentations, the vocals also contribute more than necessary emotional depth and complexity over an already intricate structure. You’ll also notice how all those additional vocal layers, back vocals, and sing-alongs offer more depth, making “Symbology Of Teeth” such a pleasant listening experience. In the meantime, the interplay between guitars creates a perfect backdrop for all the vocals to shine upon. You’ll hear how all catchy and memorable chord progressions delivered on acoustic guitars resonate on one side, while the other side shines with calm, soothing, memorable, ethereal themes, melodies, and harmonies delivered on electric guitars. You’ll notice how subtle synth leads and pads float around, offering even more melody over the top. It’s nearly mindblowing how all these layers articulate together without overwhelming each other, proving that Dinosaur Beard thought about everything while writing and composing this marvelous song.
Of course, this composition wouldn’t sound this good without the equally impressive rhythm section. The vividly hearable, warm-sounding, intricate basslines roam beneath guitars and synths, offering more than necessary heaviness, clarity, and depth while simultaneously acting as a binding element between the mentioned instruments and rhythmic patterns. These low-ends are rich, deep, dense, heavy, contributing groove and detail to this fine piece of sonic artistry without overwhelming the remainder of the instrumentation. You’ll also hear how those tastefully assembled, flawlessly performed, well-accentuated beats, breaks, fills, and other rhythmic acrobatics keep everything in line while dictating groove and pace. Each hit of the snare, kick of the bass drum, accentuation over the hi-hat, and splash of the cymbals cuts through the calm, soothing, ethereal ambiance, bringing more depth, detail, and groove. As you can see, each instrument plays a significant role here, making “Symbology Of Teeth” an outstanding piece worth repeating over and over again. Dinosaur Beard has crafted a post-punk masterpiece that goes way beyond anything you could hear on a contemporary music scene. It exceeds all expectations because this creative duo smartly breaks all the rules and shapeshifts the boundaries of the genre by implementing some of the finest properties of indie, psych, and alternative music. Dinosaur Beard’s songwriting, composing, arranging, and producing abilities go beyond comprehension so many times throughout the entire track, so this composition rewards repeated listens with even more cleverly implemented layers, details, nuances, etc. Through beautiful vocal harmonies, lush guitar and synth works, detailed basslines, and outstanding rhyhtmic performance, they constructed an impressive piece of sonic artistry that will immediately become a staple on your playlist. Head to your favorite streaming platform and check it out!
Dinosaur Beard will perform at Tramway Hotel on March 28th, so do not miss the chance to hear this amazing duo live!
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