Over the past year or so, I’ve written a bit about the Asbury Park, NJ-based indie rock band Deal Casino, and as you may recall, the act which is comprised of Joe Parella, Jon Rodney, Joe Cowell and Chris Donofrio formed back in 2013 and released a series of EPs before releasing their full-length debut in 2017 to praise from the likes of Stereogum, New Noise and others. Building upon a growing profile, the band released their sophomore album LLC last year, and from album single “Happy People,” the album revealed a band that expanded a bit upon the sound that won them attention with the single being centered around jangling guitar chords, a chugging and propulsive rhythm section and wobbling and droning synths. And while infused with a Wes Anderson soundtrack-like quirkiness, the song is bitterly ironic, as its narrator openly questions how people can be happy with themselves and the world around them when so much is dreadfully wrong. 

LLC’s second single is the breezy yet bittersweet “Baby Teeth.” Centered around shimmering guitar chords, a propulsive backbeat, a throbbing bass line and plaintive vocals, the song as the band explained in press notes is about growing up and coming to terms with your own life. They add that the song “. . . touches upon wanting to takes control and then realizing that in order to progress, grow, and be happy in life you have to be able to rely on other people. ” Interestingly, the song sonically finds the band carefully walking a tightrope between a clean studio sheen and an old-timey lo-fi, as the band recorded the song with some unusual accents like mic’ed up trash bags, bells and vintage modular synths paired with a traditional rock instrumentation — and the end result is a song that manages to be imbued with both a sense of gratefulness over having people that give a damn about you and your well-being.

Directed by Anthony Yebra, the recently released video for “Baby Teeth,” is a decided homemade, DIY affair that finds the band driving around in Tony’s car, before using two leaf blowers in front of a green screen meant for some further special effects in post production; however, as the band notes, Capitol Records cut all funding for the video halfway through the shoot, making post-production impossible. And interestingly enough, the video manages to emphasize the fact that often growing up is about dealing with shitty things in the best way you can.