The Definition of Snaggletooth
snaggle-tooth
/ˈsnaɡ(ə)ltuːθ/
noun
noun: snaggletooth
1. an irregular or projecting tooth.
2. a small deep-sea fish with large fangs at the front of the jaws and a number of light-emitting organs on the body.
(Definitions from Oxford Languages.)
Connie Glynn and Adele Cooper. Image Credit: Philipp Ammon.
When YouTuber and novelist Connie Glynn (formerly known as Noodlerella) posted a video on her account entitled ‘What Happened to Connie Glynn? (me)’, I didn’t expect it to be an announcement that she had formed a band called Snaggletooth with vocalist Adele Cooper and producer Sparkles*. All previous videos on the account had been privatised, and the band soon released the music video for their first single ‘Boohoo Baby’ in March, with the eponymous EP following in April.
The EP received a limited run on CD at just a hundred numbered copies with a handful randomly signed (which weren’t available to buy separately). The physical copies sold out in a matter of days, but is available to purchase as a digital download and streaming on all your favourite platforms. The EP begins with ‘(Intro) Myth’.
The five-track collection opens with distant noise, like rolling waves, and what sounds like an upright piano, but every key pushed has an electronic edge to it that leaves an imprint of digital pinpricks. ‘She crawled out of the lake, hear her howling…’ Snaggletooth’s opening words echo the imagery used in the ‘Boohoo Baby’ video and their promotional photos. The voice of Sparkles* can also be heard, which adds another perspective to the blend of Adele and Connie’s harmonies. Carefully placed bass guitar comes before thudding drums in what is the perfect introduction to both the Snaggletooth sound and the songs that follow.
Snaggletooth’s debut single is also the longest featured on the EP, and the obvious showcase of what the trio can do. ‘Boohoo Baby’ is an explosive state of affairs with more bass riffing before the full band kicks in. Drums on this EP are handled by Leo Taylor, with everything recorded at Sparkles*’ Asterisk Studio in London. The guitar sound here is reminiscent of nu-metal, while the lead lines are taken on keyboard. Interestingly, the drum sound could’ve been programmed, but Boohoo Baby massively benefits from a human touch, making the track bigger and better. It’s easy to distinguish Adele and Connie’s vocals in the mix as Sparkles* plays them opposite each other, and if this doesn’t help you to identify them, the video certainly does that.
Directed and edited by Sparkles*, produced by Adele and Connie, and written by the latter, the accompanying visuals for Boohoo Baby really are as Snaggletooth as you can get. With the vocalists as the maids to The Lady of the House (played by Jordan Emily Brown), the unnerving plot sees the suspicious staff performing a ritual around the Lady’s tears, smashing the shit out of some food, and emerging from a nearby lake. Incidentally, the physical copies of the EP include directions to make an untitled baked good which may or may not be a recipe for disaster.
‘Falling’ opens with what sounds like a mixture of keyboard and clean guitar. An effect that can only be described as a trapped spirit floats malevolently between the stereo channels, a part of this melody has an echo of Boohoo Baby’s lead keyboard line. Here, the vocals are given more space to breathe: ‘Lay your head upon the grass to rest your bones…’ A brief line is sung by Sparkles*, and a drum build-up from Leo Taylor gives way to Glynn and Cooper’s harmonies.
Falling is quietly powerful, and one of the excellent parts about this song is how it could be arranged in a multitude of ways. It could be heavy, acoustic, trip-hop, or bare with piano and strings. This is how good the writing from Snaggletooth is, if you gave this song to five different producers, it could turn out five different tracks.
In the dying moments of Falling, ‘Under The Skin’ emerges. Immediately a different mood from the former song, the programmed rhythm track sounds like guitar noise cut up and processed. Snaggletooth return to the nu-metal sound of Boohoo Baby, which, at it’s heaviest evokes the image of audiences moshing to it. If this band doesn’t take this music to a live scenario, it would be a tremendous waste.
Under The Skin gets better with each listen as you notice the nuances between Taylor’s drumming, Sparkles*’ guitar work and Connie and Adele’s vocals following the rhythm. Not to mention the catchy lyrics, which I wish were available somewhere so I could properly reference them. The repeating tail-end of a phrase, ‘into you, into you, into-’
‘-you’
…continues into ‘Teenage Love Song’, the EP’s closing thoughts. Soundtracked by piano, and eerie waves of keyboard, this is the most vocal-centric song on Snaggletooth’s EP. In particular the repeated lines that get me are: ‘One day the lake will flood this town, and I’ll hold your hand while you drown, one day the sun will turn to dust, and there’ll be no one left to remember us.’
Where Snaggletooth take the heavy approach well, they also have the knack for producing the more atmospheric and disturbing numbers like this one. As (Intro) Myth was a perfect beginning, so Teenage Love Song is the perfect ending. I can’t wait to hear what they do next.
Snaggletooth. Sparkles*, Connie Glynn and Adele Cooper.
1. Snaggletooth. Who came up with this name? Were there other names in the running for this band?
Connie Glynn: I came up with the name, it actually comes from the Latin ‘snoogeltoot’ which means ‘please stop telling me to get my teeth fixed in youtube comments you little boot lickers’.
2. Adele, how did Snaggletooth meet? When did you all decide to form the band?
Adele Cooper: We’ve been friends for years and all have a big interest in music so it sort of just made sense that we would join forces.
3. The EP is a writing collaboration between all three of you. What was the writing process like?
Sparkles*: It begins with one of us saying “let’s do a song like this” and trying to describe it using words which never works, but eventually I kinda think I know what’s being described and produce a little mood board demo thing and usually it’s nothing like what was described but whatever, then one of us sings some gibberish vocals over the top and we go from there.
4. Connie, you mentioned in the 'What happened' video that the EP was put together over 16 months. Once recording began, what did a typical day in the studio look like?
Connie: There’s two types of studio days, the ones where we get loads of work done at super high speed like quicksilver in X-Men, and the ones where we watch like 10 episodes of bob’s burgers while occasionally going ‘omg we should do a song like this’. Both are equally as important.
5. I love Leo Taylor's drum performances on this EP! Were his parts done remotely due to the pandemic? Or was he able to record at Asterisk Studio?
Sparkles*: He came into the studio, yeah. But Adele and Connie didn’t see Leo at all during the process, he was recorded separately.
6. Sparkles*, I love the transition between 'Under The Skin' and 'Teenage Love Song'. Was it written that way or was it a production decision made later in the process?
Sparkles*: This was actually something that happened after the songs were written, I just noticed that they ended and started with the same word. Complete coincidence as far as I remember.
7. The video for 'Boohoo Baby' works brilliantly with the music. What was it like to work with Mandy Celine, Philipp Ammon and Jordan Emily Brown on the day?
Connie: It was pretty interesting, Mandy and Philipp can’t go out in daylight or they burst into flames so we had to get quite creative with the shots, and Jordan isn’t actually real, she’s a sentient code created by the Instagram algorithm so finding a way to project her hologram into the real world was a big learning curve for us.
8. The location shots are a long way from London. Where were those done?
Sparkles*: The whole video was shot on location in an Airbnb and at Lake Grasmere, both in the Lake District. We had a fun time trying to shoot a music video in an Airbnb whilst also trying to disguise the fact we were shooting a music video in an Airbnb from the nosy neighbours. I think they thought we were shooting a porno, which isn’t too far from the truth tbh.
9. Can fans expect another video or two from this EP?
Adele: At the moment we are looking to the future rather than the present for videos ideas. Having said that, we always did plan on making another music video for the EP so who knows.
Sparkles*: But don’t hold your dick.
10. The physical copies of your EP sold out pretty quickly! Are there plans for a second run?
Connie: It depends, we have to summon them from another realm so it all rides on whether we can get the sacrificial items needed.
11. I've yet to follow the recipe in the CD artwork. What's everyone's favourite baked good?
Connie: I love baked custard tarts, actually, just baked custard in general, flan, crème brulee, all the baked custard cinematic universe is my fav.
Adele: Do meringues count as baked goods?
Sparkles*: Battenburg
12. Will there be some Snaggletooth gigs once performing live becomes safer?
Adele: We prefer to use the word rituals rather than gigs, and yes we might be performing some rituals later in the year let’s see what happens shalt we?
13. Looking to the future, will there be more music? Have you already been writing for a future release?
Adele: We prefer to use the word summon rather than write, and yes we’re doing a deal with a bunch of demons right now.
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Snaggletooth’s debut EP is available to download and stream in all the usual places.
Visit Snaggletooth’s official website to purchase t-shirts and other merchandise.
Follow Snaggletooth on Instagram @snaggletoothband and on Twitter @heysnaggletooth.
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