PJ had been making music under the Bug Teeth moniker since 2018, back when making music was a much more solitary process. Their first tracks were made using garage band synths and the built-in microphone on some earphones. Despite being well-received at the time, it was never intended to be heard by anyone else. Made in the basement of a shared house in Leeds, ‘Lucky Me, Lucky Mud’ was a collaborative, and fairly sporadic attempt to bring some of those earlier songs to life. Released this October on Vinyl through Come Play With Me Records, PJ invites you into the enchanting world of Bug Teeth, sharing their personal narration on each of the album’s tracks.
Superlunary
I wrote 'Superlunary' alone, and it’s intended to replicate that feeling of loneliness. As the EP reflects how Bug Teeth grew as a solo project to become a full band, Superlunary is the last track that was purely my own. It’s meant to feel spacious, and otherworldly, and whilst Bug Teeth isn’t this electronic any more, we love how Superlunary encapsulates our dreamier influences.
Ice-9
'Ice-9' was the first song that we wrote collaboratively. It grew from my guitar part and lyrics that I’d written in my bedroom after an apocalyptic dream. As soon as Sonny started drumming, with his DnB breakbeats, it became fully realised. It’s inspired by the author Kurt Vonnegut, as is the title of the EP, and my own anxiety and frequent struggles with panic attacks.
Virgo
'Virgo' is the song that I struggle to get through live without crying. Like all songs on this EP, it started in my bedroom. It was initially about my best friend moving away, and what that little loss meant to me, but my mum always cried when she saw it live. She was a Virgo and thought that the song was about her. When she died, I realised that it must have been about her all along. Every time we play it I feel a bit closer to her.
Little Insects
'Little Insects' is the softest song on the EP. It’s about a difficult relationship, so it’s lyrically the softest as well. It’s probably the full band song closest to how it was meant to be solo - and has one of my favourite lyrics about worms.
Kafka
Another song about my anxiety, 'Kafka' started as a very dark electronic track and found its place with motorik, Krautrock-inspired rhythms. It’s about paranoia, being watched, and compulsions. As it’s inspired by The Trial, it’s interesting how the EP begins with not wanting to be alone, and ends with not wanting to be surrounded.
Either way, Lucky Me, Lucky Mud is more about nightmares than it is dreams.
Limited edition vinyl copies of ‘Lucky Me, Lucky Mud’ are available now from cpwmrecords.com
