NYC’s rodeo-core wrecking crew Dead Tooth are saddling up for their big moment. The five-piece is unleash their self-titled debut album today via Trash Casual, and it’s every bit as wild, unfiltered, and raw as you’d hope from a band that’s been grinding away in New York’s grimy underground. They’ve also dropped a new video for the album opener Song of the Weak, which sets the tone for everything that follows.
Catch the video now—before they roll through New York on August 1, and then hit the road for a fall tour running September 27 through October 18. This one’s going to feel sweaty and chaotic in all the right ways.
Born from Burnout, Built for the Stage
Song of the Weak wasn’t just a clever title—it came from a real place. Dead Tooth frontman Zach Ellis was part of a “song-a-week” club and, at a low point, penned what would become the album’s first track.
“It’s about struggling with cyclical destructive decision making,” Ellis says. “Choosing hedonism over looking in the mirror… I’ve spent many years in NY on what feels like a hamster wheel of trying to fill a void or chase some kind of unattainable self or other.”
That tension, that restless itch, pulses through the entire record. Dead Tooth feels like a collapsing building somehow still standing—wobbling, but held up by pure willpower, feral guitar feedback, and screeching sax.
A 90s fever dream with sax and Feedback
This isn’t just punk. It’s cinema. Think 90s disaster movie, complete with end-of-the-world stakes, dark humor, and no clean heroes. Dead Tooth balances razor-wire chaos and unnerving calm, often in the same breath. Ellis’ vocals veer toward the edge of collapse while John Stanesco’s sax and EWI (yep, an electronic wind instrument) screech through the noise like a siren song from the void.
The album was tracked across various studios in the NYC boroughs from 2022 to 2024, capturing the claustrophobia and spirit of the city. The band—Taylor Mitchell (lead guitar), James Duncan (bass), and Michael Cohen (drums), alongside Ellis and Stanesco—keep things punchy and immediate. Tom Beaujour (Nada Surf, Juliana Hatfield) mixed it all together, bringing just enough polish to make it cohesive without scrubbing off the grime.
The whole thing is deliberately raw—no overdone effects, no bloated overdubs. It’s sweaty, unhinged, and unrelentingly honest. Exactly how it should be.
Dead Tooth’s debut hits today.
Stream it, blast it, or better yet, catch them live when they barrel into your town. If this album’s any indication, it’s going to be one hell of a ride.
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