Audio Mixer: Little Teeth.

These San Franciscans let their freak flag fly on the ironically titled CHILD BEARING MAN, bringing the weirdo New York stylings of bands like Animal Collective back to the West Coast. Their debut is both complex and shambolically childlike, as the trio trade off on string instruments, synths, accordions and, once in a while, something as typical as a banjo. At times sounding like kids let loose in their high school band room after sniffing glue ("Oh Drag!") and other times nearing Appalachian folk authenticity ("Between My Ears"), MAN is never boring, even if sometimes Little Teeth sound like they have a little growing up to do.

Envision if you will, Jeremy Enigk's Return of the Frog Queen, if he was hyperactive and tone deaf. Or imagine if Animal Collective had no prior musical talent and recorded their first practice, while fronted by Olive Oyl doing a Courtney Love impression. Off-key vocals galore, and all the clatter of playtime in a kindergarten classroom, Child Bearing Man incorporates a cornucopia of bluegrass instruments, and clashes them with choppy drum parts, guitar, violins, and percussive toys to create a massive racket, accented with the shrill shrieks of female vocalist Dannie Murrie. Using the chamber pop method of recording by tracking layer upon layer in their basement studio, Little Teeth teaches a powerful lesson that layering heavily doesn't necessarily make for a thicker production. If the music is grating, more can just make it more maddening. ~ Jason Lymangrover

Envision if you will, Jeremy Enigk's Return of the Frog Queen, if he was hyperactive and tone deaf. Or imagine if Animal Collective had no prior musical talent and recorded their first practice, while fronted by Olive Oyl doing a Courtney Love impression. Off-key vocals galore, and all the clatter of playtime in a kindergarten classroom, Child Bearing Man incorporates a cornucopia of bluegrass instruments, and clashes them with choppy drum parts, guitar, violins, and percussive toys to create a massive racket, accented with the shrill shrieks of female vocalist Dannie Murrie. Using the chamber pop method of recording by tracking layer upon layer in their basement studio, Little Teeth teaches a powerful lesson that layering heavily doesn't necessarily make for a thicker production. ~ Jason Lymangrover