Album Review: Mushroom Teeth, 'Mushroom Teeth Vol: 2'

Mushroom Teeth, Mushroom Teeth Vol: 2 Credit: Courtesy

(Self-released, digital)

Is any instrument more overlooked than the bass guitar? Unless you’re listening to Primus or Victor Wooten, the bass is often in the background, doing the hard work and driving the music. Overshadowed by the flashy sexiness of an electric guitar and the raw power of a drum set, the four-string rarely inspires kids to look at it and say, “Yep, that’s the one for me.”

Maybe they just need a case study in how important the bass truly is. Enter Enosburgh progressive metal band Mushroom Teeth. Composed of guitarist John Notaro and drummer Lucas Hall, the duo released Mushroom Teeth Vol: 1 in 2023, featuring Shiny New Toyz bassist Bradley Woodward. Vol: 2 dropped in December, this time with Joseph Tymecki handling the low-end duties.

Tymecki and Woodward have noticeable differences in their playing. There’s a melodically searching, almost funky element to Woodward’s style compared to Tymecki’s muscular and heavily harmonic playing, similar in some ways to that of Tool’s Justin Chancellor. But both drive Mushroom Teeth onward, locking in with Hall to create sophisticated yet jaggedly heavy instrumental metal music.

While Vol: 1‘s songs centered thematically on the seven metals of an alchemist, Vol: 2 is built around the colors of the rainbow, with each song named for a color. If you’re curious whether the songs correspond with a tonal character of the color, uh, me too. “Red” isn’t some heavier-than-heavy rage-stomper, though. It’s a moderate-tempo jam focused on Tymecki’s bass that gives Notaro ample time to shred to his heart’s content.

And shred he does. Notaro is one of those Vermont musicians who not only pops up in multiple projects at once but also usually does something completely different in each. He sings in Red Handed Betrayal, plays in a country band called Jonny Hick and the Kickers, and lays down the drums with cosmic jazz outfit Astral Underground.

His guitar work on Vol: 2 is suitably savage for such a heavy record, but his eclectic palette is clear in his playing. While his riffs churn and burn, the solos are like expeditionary voyages into the unknown. The squeals of pitch-shifted notes that he lets fly at the beginning of “Blue” are set against an almost languid backdrop from Hall and Tymecki, a sonic juxtaposition that Mushroom Teeth seem to glory in.

The band recorded its latest record at West Street Digital in St. Albans with producer André Maquera, who also produced Vol: 1. A shredder of some renown himself with the long-running rock act 8084, Maquera seems to properly grok what Mushroom Teeth are going for. Vol: 2 is easily the band’s best-sounding record to date, a slick, powerfully experimental piece of music.

Whether a different bassist joins for a prospective Vol: 3 remains to be seen. As good as Tymecki’s tracks are, and as good as Woodward’s were on Vol: 1, the idea of a band with a rotating bassist, especially a band with chops such as Mushroom Teeth, is tantalizing.

Mushroom Teeth Vol: 2 is available on major streaming services.