Life moves pretty fast, in that I feel like I just wrote about new music from Against The Voices. But alas, it’s been months since the duo released HAPP-EP, their five-song collection of tracks all about being happy about not being happy. Now they’ve returned with a new track called “Sweet Tooth”, mixing soft and saccharine verses with choruses so sour they’ll stay on your tongue for a long time.
Gabriel Hart and Nick Zimmerman bring back the songwriting energy along with the lyrical wit to sing from the point of view of a toxic partner. The song feels like a handful of Sour Patch Kids: Explosions of bitter punches to the back of the throat give way to moments of sugary deception. The instrumentation takes influence from indie rock legends like Relient K, Motion City Soundtrack, and Weezer, all of whom mastered the art of balancing soft and loud energies in their music.
The lyrics don’t just paint the picture of a toxic partner: They explain how the effects of that toxicity can linger, much like a cavity hiding in a back tooth. It’s easy to wave away the pain, choosing to enjoy the sweet taste and ignoring the wrecking ball it takes to physical and mental health. That’s the trick of a toxic partner: Give enough sweetness to get stuck in someone’s head, then bring on the toothaches. Of course, Hart and Zimmerman themselves aren’t toxic partners, but their ability to channel that energy into metaphor makes it clear that – unfortunately – they’ve tasted quite a few sour candies.
Take a listen to “Sweet Tooth” below.
Written by Will Sisskind
