Pianos Become the Teeth, 'Hiding' -- Song Premiere

The owners of Topshelf Records will tell you that one of the hands-down biggest records for their label was Pianos Become the Teeth's 2011 LP The Lack Long After.

Thanks to that eight-song meditation on death and grieving driven by slick guitars, gut-punch drums and frontman Kyle Durfey's spine-tingling screams, the've had a monster couple years as far as punk bands go, touring the United States and Europe, racking up thousands of new fans and screaming themselves hoarse from continent to continent.

One thing they haven't done recently is release new music, which is set to end on a new split with hard-driving L.A. emo-heroes Touche Amore. "Hiding" won't strike any of the band's many fans as too much of a departure, in that it features many of the landmarks of the Thursday-cum-Envy sound they've been developing over the last few years.


However, what appears is a new clarity in songwriting and presentation, streamlining as opposed to mainstreaming. Notes swell and cymbals ring out, and Durfey's vocals present themselves cleanly just as often as not, though lines like "there's no good in your eyes anymore" still hit as hard as they used to.

"Hiding" fulfills the important aspects of any split release, providing something new for fans while hopefully roping in some new ones. Look for it via Topshelf and Deathwish Inc. digitally on Jan. 8 and on 7-inch vinyl Jan. 22.