FIFTY3 FRIDAYS: A TALE OF TWO LOST TEETH

Some people may know me as an occasional bass guitar player in covers bands and a barn dance outfit. I say occasional as we don’t play that often these days and as it says ‘average bass player’ on my Twitter profile, I haven’t had much call from aspiring artistes to get the instrument out either. Our main band became PlanB in 1999 having had a brief life as The Electric Chairs for a fundraising revue and an earlier outing as Midlife Crisis. I still have the World Tour t-shirt from the last-named beat combo; yes, well Kingston and err, Kingston - that was about it.

What’s this got to do with lost teeth, you ask? Well, when Ben Drew turned up as Plan B and had a #1 album with his second full length in 2010, we’d play at our local pub and people would ring up and ask if it was a Plan B secret gig or even a tribute act (not very imaginative deleting the space between the n and B though). Anyhow this week saw me trying to track down an outfit called Lost Teeth which took me erroneously from Seattle through to Sheffield which reminded me that bands across the globe can and do have the same name. Read on! [Why the rabbit pic? – Ed]

Photo of Mezanmi by Alex Kozobolis

We start with something affective and beautiful from an artiste I have so much respect for as an individual and a singer, songwriter and musician. Fran O’Hanlon first came on my radar when he was runner-up in the Glastonbury Emerging Talent Competition in 2020 under the aegis of AJIMAL, releasing an exquisite second album, As It Grows Dark / Light, that summer before making his Covid-delayed festival debut two years later. A Newcastle native, he qualified as a doctor whilst recording his first album, Childhood, five years earlier and he continues to practise medicine alongside his musical career. These days he goes by the name of MEZANMI which he pronounces ‘mes amis.’

Mezanmi has an album due for release on 22 November. The title, Always Upwards, is highly appropriate to the lasting note of hope he instils into his music, however poignant the inspiration behind it might be. He has now shared a single from the LP, “‘Two Strangers”, in collaboration with the acclaimed actor/musician Jessie Buckley who contributes some exceptional harmonies to complement Mezanmi’s meltingly fragile tones. Build around a simple folk melody, the song speaks of the moment just before you meet someone who goes on to change your life and so signals a tipping point where future events unfold. Mezanmi met Jessie Buckley while supporting her tour with Bernard Butler to promote their Mercury Prize-shortlisted album and she asked if they could sing something together. Two strangers have scarcely been quite so gloriously united.

It is already shaping up to be a busy autumn for the ever-prolific Midlanders, The Happy Somethings. In September the splendid trio treated us to two disparate new songs; firstly, “Rent to Kill”, a dark tale to put you off dodgy letting agents (or serial killers) for life. Check it out on Bandcamp – you will love the askew guitar line, weird bubble effect or whatever that is and of course Joy’s lovely, airy vocal. This was closely followed by a collaboration with electronic wizard Matt Counchman aka Lost Signal in the shape of “Spaghetti Hoops.” I’ll share this one below. The Happys have much fun with Matt’s warm, percussive instrumental track adding some nursery rhyme-like words which reimagine the school yard and kids’ obsessions with food.

If that wasn’t quite enough of something happy, the band has breezed into October with a 3-track EP, Love Songs. This seems to be a return of sorts to the classic sound of the Happys which originally attracted me to the trio’s work via gems like “Sweet Little Sad Song.” After experimenting with darker material and several collaborations, the EP signals development of some core musical snippets that had been put to one side. The lead track “Bed Friend” is a pure delight with lyrics as wry and inventive as they come, a rolling melody and vocals that fit the character of the song perfectly. What’s more, three tracks become six on Sunday – a free download on Bandcamp or a CD via Subjangle (not free!) Happy days.

In contrast to the prodigious output of The Happy Somethings, it had been a while since I had heard anything of Mint Eastwood. I first encountered the man with the amusing moniker getting on for four years ago via the analogue textures of “Screwed Up”, a song about a failed relationship with a protagonist stumbling out of control through life in an alcoholic haze. At the time I wrote that, Yorkshire Moors based, you might have expected Mint to opt for Cliff Heath as an alternative nom de plume but he’d have hardly made your day. [Not a bad line – Ed]. I looked out for further releases and went on to feature his singles, the warm and fuzzy “Man From Atlantis”, his ode to The Cure (“Robert Told Me”) and the Superman-inspired “Just a Friend (From Another Star).”

This took us to early 2022 after which I assumed that Mint’s powder had run a wee bit dry. It was a nice surprise therefore to see him pop up on last week’s Fresh On The Net’s Listening Post with his driver’s lament, “Monster Truck.” It is a classic Mint Eastwood track filled with his self-described ‘slackertronic musical noodlings’ and bittersweet lyrics. The timing seems a bit odd as the track dates back to 2022 and was subsequently included on Mint’s album, The Life and Untimely Death of Mint Eastwood, which you can find on the likes of Spotify and Bandcamp. Sadly, this LP passed me by at the time. The album title reads like the closure on a musical adventure but reconnecting with Fresh On The Net may signify a new chapter to come in the life of Mint Eastwood. I do hope so.

Oh no, it’s that rabbit again. Another song from last week’s Fresh On The Net entries which caught my ear was the oddly titled “More Shoes! More Boots! More Garlic!” from Lost Teeth. I must admit I had to look up to find that the song title is a quote from the short film Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe during which Herzog cooks his shoes in a restaurant kitchen with garlic, herbs and stock (as you do), subsequently eating one to fulfil a rash promise to a fellow Director, Errol Morris. I have to add that I hadn’t heard of this film either, though I recall being quite a fan of the German filmmaker in the 70s and early 80s through his films, Aguirre, The Wrath Of God, Nosferatu and Fitzcarraldo.

So, what of Lost Teeth, the band? Was the shoe really that tough? On first look Lost Teeth appears to be the pairing of artist and musician Natalia Czajkiewicz - who previously recorded with Dead Spells (five-piece) and Love & Pain (duo) - and Kenneth Fletcher. Based in Seattle, Washington, Natalia is primarily a painter and embroidery artist, majoring in typography and monochromatic textures. However, with no reference to “More Shoes! More Boots! More Garlic!” on this particular set of Lost Teeth, could it be another suite of errant dentures? Step forward ‘wonky post-rock’ four-piece from Sheffield, Lost Teeth, whose Bandcamp page shows the track to be one of four from a recently released EP, Battles is Battles, recorded in lead singer Sarah’s attic. All of which leaves me no space to write about the track. I liked it. Chew on that, Werner.

We close with a final request to anyone within reasonable distance of Balham to come along and support the next Fifty3 curated gig at The Bedford, an iconic and welcoming space for live music fans. It is a place people come to listen to rather than chat over the music and they largely stay for the whole show. On Tuesday 22 October, we have another great eclectic line-up featuring the fabulous Silk Cinema, with fine support from Brighton’s Frances Mistry and South London’s The Music of Sound. The show is free but it is wise to book tickets here – this guarantees you a seat, though there is always standing room for any walk-ins on the night.

As I featured Silk Cinema when I previewed this show in August and recently reviewed The Music Of Sound at its album launch, I will leave you with a Frances Mistry song to whet your aural appreciation. This is one I haven’t previously featured - “Our Blood” from her ace 2024 EP, Messages.