My First Tooth

I’m formulating a theory that the guys over at Alcopop Records are nothing more than giant ears and even bigger hearts stuffed in dancing shoes; such is the calibre of their roster which hosts amongst it the never twee, but always charming Indie folk-pop of My First Tooth.

If the Northampton quartet’s debut Territories saw them conquer the critical landscape with their sweet complexities and raw energy then their follow up Love Makes Monsters sees them pushing their sound further than ever before to make what is undoubtedly one of 2013’s most instantly loveable, accessible, and decidedly cutest records.


My First Tooth's multi-instrumental approach has set them apart from many of their peers and here they only expand on that as short interludes like ‘Six’ demonstrate. It’s the raucous atmosphere and relentless attack of melody on tracks such as ‘Into The Wild – Pt.1’, which see’s Sophie Galpin’s violin alone in the spotlight, that makes this such a delight. Gareth Amwel Jones’s drumming is tighter than ever here and his sense of control only accentuates the bubbling tension on ‘The Palace’ while on tracks like ‘Claw To Club’ he’s the driving force behind it’s jangly folk march. Love Makes Monsters is an album that’s harder and stronger than My First Tooth's debut while still managing to retain the perfect ratio of quaint to saccharine that made ‘Sleet and Snow’ the winter warmer it was. The final one-two of the grandiose ‘Monsters’ and an intensely vocal ‘Some Gurls’ is enough to make you want to run outside and just start hugging homeless people with tears streaming down your beaming face. Minutes and minutes of Joel Harries stagnant trumpet under the angelic light that is the dual force of Ross K. Witt’s and Sophie Galpin's ooh’s is spine tingling. Not since The Antlers Burst Apart has an album been this all-encompassing in its emotion, this is tender and sad with just the right sprinkling of hope.

Ross K. Witt continues to tell us his tales of the often neglected musical subjects of animals and ships, but here we often find ourselves in the more crushing territories of heartbreak and nostalgia as lead single ‘Past Broadcasts’ typifies: “On rustic radios, in midsummer meadows, and tin can telephones we’ll talk between our homes.” His soft honeyed voice flecked with the strains and scratches of age make Witt a vocalist to be both admired and adored, his accent oozing with authenticity as he bitterly remarks: “I don’t need somebody else to love you, I can love you all by myself,” on the cynical pop ballad that is ‘Hawk in Harness’. Single ‘Heartbeat Retreat’ proves that sometimes rhymes just do make better poetry as Witt’s couplets fill the verses before bringing in Galpin and their trademark boy/girl harmonies.


Love Makes Monsters is a melancholy record without a doubt: “Harmless love is hard to find and most settle for the harmful kind, love is war and sharpened claws, if love is sore then love no more,” but between their penchants for beating the bleakest of lyrics with electric and eclectic hoe-down style melodies and their choral harmonies it never makes you feel anything but alive.

If Territories put them on your radar then Love Makes Monsters sees them come into your bedroom and invite you to do just that.

- Alt Sounds

My First Tooth are somewhat of a hidden gem - blossoming on the excellent Alcopop! Records, the band have grown rapidly over the last few years into a mature and diverse songwriting entity, and with 'Love Makes Monsters' they've really hit their stride. Full of wonderful, violin-peppered indie, the band have reached perfection in writing uplifting movements here, and the record as a whole is sure to flip even the most set-in frown. A truly eloquent and endearing adventure, and one that should see the band's bright future realised over the next few years. - Rocksound

Up next were My First Tooth. The British folk-rockers sound as though Fleet Foxes bought a distortion pedal, felt something – anything – then grew a pair of balls. An excellent use of both vocal harmonies and unusual instrumentation (a violin, some sort of giant mandolin, and additional percussion) lent plenty of jauntiness to the music, and there was enough progress and development in each song to keep the listener engaged throughout. Their biggest strength was definitely their use of three vocalists, as though Cerberus himself had taken singing lessons and really got into layered harmonies. The tone didn’t quite fit with the other bands playing tonight, which seemed to prevent some members of the crowd accessing their sound, but nonetheless a strong, and at points triumphant performance. - Noise Violation

My First Tooth didn’t put a foot wrong as they delivered a churning set of toe tapping indie gold. Instrument swapping, rabble rousing, feel good music delivered with impeccable timing and an overwhelming sense of handsome, My First Tooth are a stunning band. Honestly indie with an injection of country swagger, the Northampton four-piece transport you to a place where the your only worry is spilling your beer. Infectious and charming fall short in capturing the efflorescent beauty that My First Tooth exudes. Past Broadcasts sat midway through the set, yet it’s blend of sentiment, relevance and foresight alongside unforgettable couplets and catchy as sin good-nature made sure it was still nestled in your subconscious the following morning. - Justdip

My First Tooth didn’t put a foot wrong as they delivered a churning set of toe tapping indie gold. Instrument swapping, rabble rousing, feel good music delivered with impeccable timing and an overwhelming sense of handsome, My First Tooth are a stunning band. Honestly indie with an injection of country swagger, the Northampton four-piece transport you to a place where the your only worry is spilling your beer. Infectious and charming fall short in capturing the efflorescent beauty that My First Tooth exudes. Past Broadcasts sat midway through the set, yet it’s blend of sentiment, relevance and foresight alongside unforgettable couplets and catchy as sin good-nature made sure it was still nestled in your subconscious the following morning. - Justdip

In the afternoon, a real treat is found in The Leaf Lounge – the smaller of the three ‘big’ stages – in a set from the fabulous My First Tooth. There’s something really special here – the infectious rock n’ roll undertones of live American gypsy punk, in places not unlike those of Titus Andronicus, but alongside the clean and loveable brilliance of modern alternative indie – definitely one to check out. - Line of Best Fit

In the afternoon, a real treat is found in The Leaf Lounge – the smaller of the three ‘big’ stages – in a set from the fabulous My First Tooth. There’s something really special here – the infectious rock n’ roll undertones of live American gypsy punk, in places not unlike those of Titus Andronicus, but alongside the clean and loveable brilliance of modern alternative indie – definitely one to check out. - Line of Best Fit

My First Tooth certainly have an ear for a hook. Their thumping rodeo like pop songs have made their debut ‘Territories’ a folk record with a lot more balls than their peers. This record, along with a fairly prestigious support slot with Athlete (who championed the group throughout their set) points to a bright future for the group. Their lead single ‘Orchards’ could quite easily provide the ideal soundtrack for a summer of hype. It’s a simple band format; boy plays guitar, girl plays allsorts and everyone sings but they do it with a hoedown charm that rings means Athlete might just signify the beginning for My First Tooth.
- Shufsounds.com

In this post-Mumford & Sons world, there are a lot of bands trying to make the most of the folky/country/bluegrass trend. As with any bandwagon, there are failures and successes - and many more of the former compared to the latter. My First Tooth, however, do it very well, as Sleet & Snow's sweet and not-so-slow melody ably demonstrates. Oddly, though, rather than giving off an ice-cold air, it's an affecting, heartwarming tune, whose soft jangle is more of a late summer breeze than a bitter winter wind.

Formerly a duo, the Northampton band have recently expanded into a four-piece, something which has added more texture to their songs. Here, backing harmonies are overlayed with banjo and horns and all sorts of instrumentation, but it never feels overcrowded or busy. In fact, there's a wonderful sense of space, each instrument coming to the fore at various points throughout its three plus minutes. Twee, but not overly so, Sleet & Snow mixes nostalgia with an innocent sense of wide-eyed wonder that could well take the band far in the future. In fact, they're supporting Athlete on tour in July, so this could be the beginning of great things. On this showing, it'd be a well-deserved success. - Q Magazine

Here at The 405, we listed My First Tooth as one of our picks for 2010 back at the tail-end of last year and now the Alcopop! signings release their debut album ’Territories’. After the success of their previous singles – ‘Margaret Yen’ selling out, ‘Orchards’ being played on both Radio 1 and 6Music, let’s hope this long player carries on the trend. The Northampton five-piece have spent the year recording the album and touring relentlessly, playing a range of significant festivals and supporting bands such as The Antlers.

Opening with a gentle 30-second reference back to ‘Margaret Yen’, this soon makes way for an assortment of violins, jangly sounds and some perfectly-placed “ohh-ohhs” on the sumptuous and aptly-named ‘Silent Spring’, a song that makes you think of bright days. Swifly followed by ‘Orchards’, and you can easily see why this was a single with its radio-friendly pop – complete with happy clapping and foot-stomping honesty. Although all the songs are very indie-folk, some of the more experimental leanings of frontman Ross K. Witt’s old band One Toy Soldier remain, lifting the MFT sound up another level.

‘The North Sea Part I’ sounds very traditional, in the vein of The Leisure Society, with all the instruments perfectly in unison and Joel Harries’ trumpet-playing skills really given a chance to shine, before some delicate communal chanting closes it in style. ‘Part II’ is just over a minute and a half of effects-laden sadness, whilst ‘Dubrovnik’ starts off by carrying on this tugging at the heartstrings, although the clearer presence of guitars offer a semblance of hope and the song soon evolves into a blast of optimistic positivity. ‘Sleet and Snow’ could be this winter’s soundtrack to cold nights and frosty mornings, with inspired metaphorical lyrics: “If you’re sleet, I’m snow” over some dreamlike Fanfarlo-style backing melodies. Witt sings: “We’re shovelling most of the year, so we’re stuck here”. There are far worse places.

‘Twilight Theatre’ is about an astonishing play being put on in a nearby place that Witt advises you to go and watch, before a darker and slightly sinister tone documenting how “she can’t bear to watch the replay” takes over. The perfectly weighted dual vocals throughout the album are stirring, although also a little haunting, and the melodic pop hooks mixed with a more traditional folk sound is especially pleasing, if a little rough around the edges but this adds to their grand and ambitious sound. My First Tooth could easily be discussing this album when, on ‘Twilight Theatre’, they sing: “It’s a hit, it’s a hit”.

9/10 - The 405 - Territories Review

Playing gigs as a folk act must be the worst. You’re inevitably on first, unless you’re playing an acoustic all-dayer and, moree often than not, you have no instrument loud enough to drown out the heckling during your softer songs. My First Tooth probably have their fair share of discouraging gig stories to tell – after all, they have played hundreds of shows since 2007, many of which saw them take to the stafe as a duo. The spine of guitarist, singer and movie buff Ross Marie Witt and violinist and fellow singer Sophie Galpin has since been strengthened by the acquisition of the musical equivalent of limbs – drums, bass and guitars – and is all the stronger for it.

Their Rubies EP and the ‘Margaret Yen’ single hinted at their ability to pen cosy folk-pop ditties, in whose presence you felt you could put on your sweatpants and eat half a packet of chocolate digestives. Their first album Territories is similarly agreeable, but is beefed up by the aforementioned reinforcements. ‘Slient Spring’, ahem, springs into life immediately, with bouncing drums, an electric guitar, a violin line and girl-boy harmonies all coming together to create a boisterous, poppy opener.

On balance, My First Tooth are at their strongest when they open those hi-hats and let the songs get away from them like overeager dogs – the similarly upbeat single ‘Orchards’ is an example, as is the ever-gorgeous ‘Sleet & Snow’ with its clever little mandolin riff.

But Witt’s vocals have been honed by dozens of bad PAs, and anyhow has always had that rare poignant quality, and is capable of leading a song on its own, as in the oddly touching (it is about a fire on an historic ship, after all) ‘Cutty Sark’.

There’s a lot of dirge in the folk canon, but My First Tooth only pick out the high-quality representatives: the careful instrumentation and arrangement echoes the Wilson-worship of Okkervil River, Witt’s vocals a restrained and confident Conor Oberst.

The album is dotted with a few short reprises and interludes, which make the songs flow in and out of each other in that loose, joyful manner that characterises the music on Territories. It’s a damn fine record that should give this lot the confidence to keep at it. - Line of Best Fit

Fusing different influences is something Northampton’s My First Tooth do with extreme proficiency hinting at Beirut orchestrations and Bright Eyes melancholy whilst maintaining a distinctly British identity. The resulting EP ‘My First Tooth And The Rubies‘ offers spacious song structures, haunting melodies and a habit for minor key laments. Equal importance is given to strummed guitars and gentle violins (with the occasional guest appearance from trumpets, xylophones and harmonicas) to provide the melodic backing leaving the vocals out in the open to provide The impetus for the tracks. A little trick that works wonders and provides the highlights here.

‘My First Tooth And The Rubies‘ is the complete antithesis to ‘A Modern Education’ in both style and approach, but is in no way less impressive. I’m surprised more people haven’t heard of these bands but hopefully these EPs will change all that.

http://www.cougarmicrobes.com/2009/04/alcopop/ - Cougar Microbes

Do you ever get where you forget how much you love a band, then when you see them live, you're a bit overwhelmed by it? That happened here. MFT are wonderful. For a start, Ross has the most incredible voice that gets you straight in the bit where the two parted bits of your ribcage meet each other. There are two of them, a girl and a boy, and they play acoustic guitar and violin, or acoustic guitar and mandolin, and she does beautiful harmonies to his strong, amazing voice. The sound is warm and full and skippety pacey, but somehow I can't help finding it terribly sad somewhere underneath it. In a really really good way, I mean. I was very moved. - Marsha Shandur, XFM. - Marsha Shandur, XFM.

"Enjoying the same sandpapered finish as Beirut and Bon Iver, My First Tooth and the Rubies EP makes you wish for a front porch, a sunset and a song of your own to sing, that could match Honesty Honestly for it's beauty.

Typewriters almost replicates its namesake rythmically whilst it is steeped in honey-thick violin and melodies that reach for the open road.

Oak cured alt-country" - Artrocker Magazine

MY FIRST TOOTH
MY FIRST TOOTH AND THE RUBIES
(Alcopop!)
Former One Toy Soldier shows his sensitive side
5/5
One Toy Soldier should’ve received far greater recognition and love than they got – and while this remains something of a tragedy all is not lost, for head Toy Soldier Ross Witt has resurfaced with My First Tooth – and this 6-track EP is a charming work of understated beauty. From the glorious ‘Typewriters’ to the pop hooks of ‘Sleet and Snow’, ‘My First Tooth and The Rubies’ is a folk-pop classic in the vein of John P Strohm or Fingers Cut Megamachine, brimming with heart and character – and it points to a great future for Northampton’s finest singer-songwriter. Having toured these songs constantly for the best part of three years, you can also tell that this is a labour of love for Witt – and I challenge you not to be equally captivated by such beautiful whimsies.
Rob Mair - Big Cheese Magazine

To say that My First Tooth take their music seriously is, on evidence of their debut release, an understatement. Even the title, with its reference to precious gemstones, hints at the quiet confidence the band have in their material – and the audible effort that has been put into the songs justifies this self-belief. The creative core of My First Tooth consists of singer, guitarist and songwriter Ross Witt and violinist Sophie Galpin, who also contributes backing vocals.

With help from a cast of capable backing musicians providing subtle layers of guitar, drums, trumpet and harmonica, Witt and Galpin play the kind of indie folk that has helped bands such as Shearwater, Okkervil River and The Decemberists gain loyal followers. And they – My First Tooth – do it with an intensity and sensitivity that more often than not matches that of their idols. “Sleet & Snow” is a cleverly chosen opener. Upbeat and melodic, it also is a neat demonstration of the interplay of Witt’s and Galpin’s vocals, which go together like milk and honey. Add some handclaps and a lovely little mandolin riff, and you’re as close to a folk “hit” as you will get.

Elsewhere, Galpin’s violin, Joel Harries’ trumpet and Witt’s own harmonica add dots of colour to paint a carbon copy of Will Sheff’s finest moments. On “Honestly, honestly” Witt sings “If I could be more like him/Would it change a thing?” and, honestly, (sorry) if that song doesn’t make you swallow that little bit harder, then a doctor’s appointment might be in order – your heartlessness will have reached potentially lethal levels.

By Matthias Scherer

Rating: 8/10 - www.noizemakesenemies.co.uk

The problem with West Yorkshire's second City - Bradford - is that one can not hear the sound of anything happen for the volume of those who tell you that nothing is happening and the sight of Northampton folk-popsters My First Tooth playing to so few people so very well is as good an indication of this situation as any.

Augmented from the two of Russ Witt and Sophie Galpin - who is once more wearing the I Put The Rad In Bradford shirt - My First Tooth now number five having added a drummer, a bass and a second guitar to add to the lead acoustic. The sound is rich and textured shaped by Russ's deliberate delivery and Sophie's violin.

They start with Margaret Yen which is as catchy a slice of pop as one could hope to hear before a runaround that sees the band swap instruments and a second violin lilting through a set of songs that are both original and bright yet seem older and as familiar as something pulled off the better parts of your family vinyl collection.

Sleet and Snow is their signature tune - their White Winter Hymnal - and the encore is called for by the smattering of people and enjoyed.

The smattering of people. A problem with the City, a problem with the scene, a problem with a music industry that has bred a consumer of product rather than appreciators. Without the sensationalism of bands who become trumpeted as next big things (sometimes justifiably) wonderfully textured and real acts like My First Tooth have to survive on scraps when they should be feasting.

Written By Michael Wood Sunday, April 5th, 2009
My First Tooth r[pm] Presents at The PM Bar, Shipley, Bradford - http://www.dalliance.co.uk/

The problem with West Yorkshire's second City - Bradford - is that one can not hear the sound of anything happen for the volume of those who tell you that nothing is happening and the sight of Northampton folk-popsters My First Tooth playing to so few people so very well is as good an indication of this situation as any.

Augmented from the two of Russ Witt and Sophie Galpin - who is once more wearing the I Put The Rad In Bradford shirt - My First Tooth now number five having added a drummer, a bass and a second guitar to add to the lead acoustic. The sound is rich and textured shaped by Russ's deliberate delivery and Sophie's violin.

They start with Margaret Yen which is as catchy a slice of pop as one could hope to hear before a runaround that sees the band swap instruments and a second violin lilting through a set of songs that are both original and bright yet seem older and as familiar as something pulled off the better parts of your family vinyl collection.

Sleet and Snow is their signature tune - their White Winter Hymnal - and the encore is called for by the smattering of people and enjoyed.

The smattering of people. A problem with the City, a problem with the scene, a problem with a music industry that has bred a consumer of product rather than appreciators. Without the sensationalism of bands who become trumpeted as next big things (sometimes justifiably) wonderfully textured and real acts like My First Tooth have to survive on scraps when they should be feasting.

Written By Michael Wood Sunday, April 5th, 2009
My First Tooth r[pm] Presents at The PM Bar, Shipley, Bradford - http://www.dalliance.co.uk/

...following on were My First Tooth. This band played with an uplifting sea shanty spirit that warmed up the crowd and stirred in a mood, meant for sunny days and clearing the nights of the chills and gloom of Winter. The perfect dance between uniting vocals, strings and guitars brought out the best of the season's attitudes in the audience; those jigging while sat in booths, as well as those letting loose by the stage.
- TheFourOhFive.com - www.fourohfive.com