REVIEW: Showing Teeth - A Fate Worse Than Loneliness
- Julia Stark
- 3 hours ago
- 3 min read
SHOWING TEETH have already taken the hardcore scene by storm, bringing a breath of fresh and vicious air from singer Addison that's received admiration all the way across the pond, with a coveted support slot for BRING ME THE HORIZON’s Count Your Blessings show at Outbreak Fest and a headline show in the heart of Camden. Garnering a rapidly growing fanbase and critical acclaim on just two released tracks, SHOWING TEETH unleash their full assault with ear-shredding EP A Fate Worse Than Loneliness.
While some may be amazed at the band’s immediate notoriety with only two tracks, it's a testament to Tennessee-based Addison who started out by posting memes and snippets of her vocals and built the base of their following, exploring and refining her sound until people rightfully noticed her work. She may self-doubt at how quickly her “small project” SHOWING TEETH has taken off, but when you consider A Fate Worse Than Loneliness was partly recorded in her car and still sounds studio-grade level, it's easy to see why.
A Fate Worse Than Loneliness leaves an immediate mark with Bad Exchanges’ threatening riffs steadily drowned out by Addison’s distorted vocals building to a thrashing of drums and bone-rattling bass, her screams morphing from guttural, to fry, to pitched shrieks in an impressive display of self-taught vocal power, the opening track a searing brand that says SHOWING TEETH aren't here to fuck around. Labyrinth became an understandably immediate fan favourite, rabid screams pulling us into a tearing rhythm that bends and flexes around the softer chorus of clean, soulful vocals that centre around giving your all to someone to the point of fusing skeletons together, bass riffs swooping upward as guitar shrieks pierce through against raging drum beats.
Make It Out steps away from being pure hardcore and blends with alt-metal beats and dual riffs, Addison delivering clean, soaring vocals that descend into guttural growls that show her prowess and expressive experimentation, before the track builds into classically metal guitar solo of epic levels. Rip does exactly as its title suggest and shreds through with thundering drum solos and double pedals that go hard, bass thudding steadily throughout as the guitars shift from menacing riffs to juicy squeals, vocal screams rising and falling in octaves but dominating without question.
Shallow Grave combines the exploration and excellence of the band's musical talents to bring together a track that highlights the best parts already displayed on the record, from Addison's alchemising vocal abilities that range sonically and emotionally, to the agility and force at which the riffs are plucked, the unrelenting force of the drum beats bringing the track and the dream of SHOWING TEETH together. A&Ox1 takes us out for a surreal minute and a half of muted synths and dreamlike, fading vocals over a spoken monologue of therapeutic advice of “if you are looking for a better life than you have now, then there are some things you're gonna have to accept”, spoken with a Southern drawl that feels like a no-nonsense relative giving you a pep talk.
This moment of calm folds into the closer Paradigm, introducing gentle piano and climbing synths over soft but hopeful vocals “I feel fine when I close both my eyes and rewrite both the lives”, Addison giving us a vulnerable look into her inner feelings as the drums and guitar begin to crash in, before descending into raw screams on the breakdown as she unleashes everything to a heartfelt melody that should feel out of sorts compared to its track siblings, but instead gives peaceful closure to A Fate Worse Than Loneliness.
Score: 9/10
A Fate Worse Than Loneliness was released on 4th September 2026 via Republic Records and Spinefarm.
Words: Julia Stark
Photos: Showing Teeth
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