It’d be easy for up-and-coming artists to ride overused trends or play it safe. But with the release of their first album TEETH, Auckland rap duo Church & AP are perfectly aware of their growing abilities as artists and are willing to experiment as much as possible.
An eclectic meld of ideas fused together to produce a playground of sound, TEETH is one heck of a record.
With 10 bite-sized songs to whet your appetite, TEETH is short and precise, making these tracks perfectly petite for radio consumption. Its first release Roulette is a playful track with a funky bass line and house-inspired sound – a far cry from their successful 2018 release Ready or Not. Roulette’s verses have a sing-a-long quality which makes it an undeniably catchy rap refrain.
Even more impressive is the Roulette music video. Church and AP fans are already calling it the ‘Music Video of the Year’, and with visuals inspired by Hitchcock’s Vertigo and film classic The Big Lebowski, it’s easy to see why.
Another favourite currently climbing the NZ charts is TEETH’s ninth track, moneytalk. The ideal song for a ballroom showdown, moneytalk’s disco/house-infused beat almost distracts you from its opening line:
They think I’m way too young for all this money talk
This opening line is a clear acknowledgement of the condescension the pair have faced from different parts of the industry (and alluded to in interviews).
Youth have always been underestimated, yet their potential for creativity and change is enormous. The fact that Church & AP have yet to reach their 20s tells us they haven’t yet begun to scratch the surface of their musical capabilities. And if the strength of TEETH is anything to go by, Church & AP are sure to keep rising.
Listen to their album below:
