Slow Teeth, a local post-rock band featuring Robert Chamberlain, Jeremy Haire and UNC alum Justin Ellis, will have a release party for their 2025 debut record “I” on Saturday at Cat’s Cradle.
All three members are lifelong musicians deeply rooted in the Triangle’s music scene, and they met organically through local events. Ellis works at the School of Rock Chapel Hill, Chamberlain works at Twin House Music and Haire is the head sound tech at Cat's Cradle.
Slow Teeth’s sound is a function of the musicians' various styles. For example, Ellis plays bass and sings, Chamberlain plays drums and the synthesizers at the same time, while also singing harmonies, and Haire is the guitarist and vocalist and likes to use a bow to create a cinematic sound.
“We all play our instruments kind of not in the way that you’re supposed to play them, which is part of the fun,” Ellis said.
The band prides itself on acollaborative creative process. Their sound took shape in an improvised way, and as the band plays the songs live, they change things and figure out the details of the songs.
For one song that wasn't included on "I," Haire wrote a piano part and Ellis wrote lyrics for it. The beginning of another song, “Holy Death/Peace On Earth,” started as an ambient piece by Chamberlain and led to what is now on the record.
“It was probably the second or third time we ever got together, and I recorded the session,” Chamberlain said. “The first two tracks and the last instrumental track that are on the [record] all started in that practice, and for the most part, other than some tweaking and adding lyrics, the songs were pretty fully formed by the end of that practice.”
Post-rock blends elements of rock with ambient and experimental sounds, emphasizing texture, mood and dynamic shifts over traditional structures. Slow Teeth’s music is dissonant and atmospheric, often beginning with a slow build up that moves into an intense fusion of drums, synths, guitar and vocals. Some tracks are gritty and tense, while others lean toward a gentler, more introspective sound. "Sundials," for example, starts softly, spotlighting soulful, powerful vocals before swelling into a layered, immersive climax.
Slow Teeth takes influence from many different bands to form their own sound. For instance, a lot of influence comes from their love of British rock bands like Pink Floyd, Radiohead and other post-rock bands like Explosions in the Sky. The band also takes influence from folk, blues and other genres. Jimmy Page, and specifically the sound of Sigur Rós, influenced Haire to start using a bow to create a cinematic and big leaping sound that can be heard in many of Slow Teeth’s songs.
