A year after releasing their first record, local band Toothsome has released two new songs.
Due to the pandemic, the band released its new music, called “Shark Eggs/Pirouette," in a digital format.
Toothsome was formed in the summer of 2017 when vocalist/guitarist Tom Sowders, keyboardist Melvyn Brown, guitarist Eric Mann, percussionist Lyle Collins and bassist Rylan Eshelman decided to play at a Raleigh cover band event called The Great Cover Up.
Although the group is fairly new, its members have known each other for years. In fact, Sowders and Eshelman were in a band together when they were teenagers in Chapel Hill.
Sowders said being exposed to Chapel Hill and Carrboro’s music scene at a young age played a big part in his growth as a musician.
“Because Chapel Hill and Carrboro had such vibrant music scenes, I was a child playing in the clubs, opening for national touring acts and just able to participate in a very vibrant culture of mostly older people,” he said. “That just cemented my need to write and perform rock and roll music.”
Since their first performance covering The Cure, Toothsome has worked hard to create their own unique sound using a variety of instruments and tools, which include megaphones, samplers, synths and an otherworldly soundscape of guitar pedals.
“I like to think of it (the sound) as artful post-hardcore,” said Sowders. “It’s kind of an 80s new wave. You can hear the punk rock coming through, but it’s more complicated.”
In addition to their latest release, Toothsome has another two-song album called “Khaki Slacks/Hardest Laugh,” which they released on vinyl in 2019.
