Royal Teeth Return with "Kids Conspire"
My Spilt Milk is pleased to premiere the band's first new track in three years.
Louisiana rock/pop band Royal Teeth have been best known over the last few years for its giddy onstage energy and "Wild," the song that more or less codifies its sound. Shiny, new wave textures and infectious, often wordless choruses give listeners ways to connect to the band and "Wild" particularly almost instantly. Because of that, The song first released in 2012 got second, third and fourth lives as it was licensed for 10 commercials or PR campaigns, and in 2014 Royal Teeth played it on American Idol. That year, the band played SXSW and one of NPR's music critics came away raving.
Today, My Spilt Milk debuts Royal Teeth's first new track since 2013's Glow--"Kids Conspire." The song is tougher than "Wild," but the band's sonic fingerprints are clear on it from the opening melody that seems to be emerging from somewhere down the hall to singers Gary Larsen and Nora Patterson exhorting listeners to "Take me all way-ohh."
Drummer Josh Hefner talks about "Kids Conspire," "Wild," what comes next.
What’s that sound at the start of track? Is that a harp under the first verse?
The sound at the start of the track is a loop we strung together out of a really, really old vinyl record. We then compressed it and distorted generously. I can't recall what the record was called unfortunately. The harp sound under the verses was actually made by plucking the strings on the inside of a grand piano with a guitar pick.
Another interesting sonic goodie to note would be that the deep pulsing kick drum in the first verse was recorded in the Capitol Records reverb chamber. I could listen to that by itself all day.
Why so long between recordings?
The short answer is that we have been dealing with complicated business/label stuff. [Including the deal with Elektra Records that was announced in April 2015—Ed.] We have written a ton of songs since Glow, but for a variety of reasons, we couldn’t put the music out. It’s been a frustrating situation for us, but we are happy to say that it has finally coming to an end.
Is “Kids Conspire” the start of a run-up to the new album?
We have six songs recorded that we are really happy with. We also have about 30 ideas that are real close. The plan right now is to move forward with an EP in May/June and finish the LP shortly after.
Did you have thoughts about what you want the relationship between the new songs and those on Glow should be like?
When we recorded Glow we were a six-piece. We have since parted ways with two members and acquired our guitarist, Thomas Onebane. With the lineup change, the new songs naturally have a fresh dynamic.
We consciously tried to write this EP together in a room rather than on computers via email. Much of Glow was written this way while we were touring and we feel like because of that, it lost the energy that has become a staple at our shows. We think "Kids Conspire" captures that energy and emotion. It has a big sound that feels like a natural progression from our older material.
With that being said, time has passed and influences have changed. We have grown as a band and individuals. I think you will hear that in the new EP as well.
Were you surprised that “Wild” had the life it had? Was there a point when having a song with that kind of life became complicated?
Yeah, "Wild" has had a pretty crazy run. We wrote the song five years ago (I think) and had zero expectations. So with that being said, the longevity has definitely been a surprise. Just when we are deciding to move onto the next single, "Wild" gets new life in one way or another. Even after five years, people are still discovering and connecting to the song. That’s an incredible feeling. So far it hasn’t really been complicated. We just roll with it, and we’re just thankful for each opportunity.
