5 Seconds of Summer's "TEETH" Brings the Edge to Your Summer

5 Seconds of Summer get dark in their edgy “Teeth,” an end of summer rock song that finds the Australian band growing in new ways.

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Listen: “Teeth” – 5 Seconds of Summer

Fresh off a worldwide promotional tour for their summer hit single “Easier,” it’s no surprise that 5 Seconds of Summer (5SOS) took zero time off before releasing one last song to bring an end to the sunny season. For those who have been fans of the band for the nearly eight years that they’ve been making music together, their latest single, “TEETH” (released August 21), is not at all a far reach for the group’s sound, as their passion for rock music is something that has followed their musical influence for years. However, for those just recently getting to know 5SOS, thanks to their recent impressive success to the top of the charts and on pop radio, “TEETH” isn’t like previous singles “Youngblood” or “Easier.” It carries the same emotional message, but it’s a little less pop, and a little more rock – and considering how much Luke Hemmings, Ashton Irwin, Calum Hood, and Michael Clifford care about being a great live pop-rock band, it’s only fitting they bring their sound to a level as dark, heavy, and mesmerizing as “TEETH.”

Penned by the band’s drummer Ashton Irwin and the group’s lead singer, Luke Hemmings, “TEETH” plays off the familiar idea of a toxic kind of love – a concept 5SOS haven’t shied away from writing about before. The ideas of how love can be complicated are explored through the rough verses of their previous hit, “Youngblood,” and the questions of wondering why in the choruses of “Easier,” but with “TEETH,” the boys reach into a different way of telling this story.

Some days, you’re the only thing I know
Only thing that’s burning when the nights grow cold
Can’t look away, can’t look away
Beg you to stay, beg you to stay, yeah

The song opens with a brave bass line, played by the band’s bassist, Calum Hood, and carries the entirety of the song. The line “Some days,” as the first few words of the song, introduces an idea that not every day the singer knows the person they’re looking at, and it’s already a complicated kind of love. With a team of co-writers including Ryan Tedder putting together these raw lyrics over such a hardcore instrumental track that features Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello on guitar, “TEETH” is quickly becoming a new rock favorite.

Fight so dirty, but your love so sweet
Talk so pretty, but your heart got teeth

The song is lyrically so dark, but so emotionally raw that it can’t not be good. The truth underlying the hard rock vibe feels likes the masking of pain with the effort you put into making yourself appear stronger than you are. The fact that someone’s heart can have teeth hurts, like the thing or the person that you love can hurt you… It’s painful just to acknowledge it, but 5SOS aren’t afraid to do it.

Fans who have been following 5 Seconds of Summer for years have been saying that “TEETH” is the song that truly sounds like 5SOS.

It sounds like the boys who grew up recording videos from their rooms and have always had a huge appreciation for rock music. Its heavy rhythm is reminiscent of the band who is making music solely for the fact that it’s to grow them as people and as artists, despite what critics might say about them. It reflects them as the artists who care about how they’re going to execute a song like this live for the crowd that shows up to see them. It sounds like the guys who worked so hard to reinvent their sound and got brave enough to call it their own. That’s “TEETH.” That’s 5SOS, and that’s pretty rock ‘n’ roll.

5SOS are touring across North America this fall and through winter, and you can get your tickets to see them here. 5SOS do everything in their power to bring their recorded versions of songs to life to put on an incredible live rock show. They’re a must-see for anyone who loves live music, so get your tickets before they’re gone.

“TEETH” by 5 Seconds of Summer is available for streaming across all music platforms, and can be heard on the third season of the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why out now.