The Tooth Mother - 1995

thundergirl mutation
plaster the magic tongue
lodge of skins
gossip's cup
feta funk
the tooth mother
little-less hope
there was not anything but nothing

reviewed by roisin moriarty

this album does one of two things for me. either it transports me back to the souks in marrakech, with the smell of oranges, sweet mint tea, and the need to run the gauntlet from one end of the market to the other without getting me bum pinched. or it brings on the sudden urge to join a belly dancing class. if you're a guy then maybe it just conjures up delightful images of those gorgeous belly dancers. but whatever the effects, it's a damn fine album. mk's finest in fact (in my humble opinion and taking into consideration the fact that i've yet to hear each eye a path).

the tooth mother is karn's most well rounded, alluring and downright magical work to date. he's woven a tapestry as rich and exciting as any flying carpet, taking the listener through a fabulous dreamscape of a thousand and one arabian nights… okay, am i going a little ott here? well, maybe but that's what this album does to me. every time i listen to it i can forget the grey skies of london outside my window and allow myself to be transported to another world. in particular, the wonderful "lodge of skins" and the sublime "feta funk" (what a title! i can't look at a piece of goat's cheese without thinking of it) conjure up the most fabulous and lucid eastern images. the melodies are infectious, almost hypnotic, and natacha atlas's vocals are quite stunning.

even karn's own vocals work better on this album than they have on previous works. i'm sure he'd be the first to admit that he's not the most accomplished singer in the world (god, i hope so; otherwise i'm in for one helluva guilt trip) but this time 'round it really works. everything slots into place and it doesn't even cross my mind to wonder how someone else might have tackled the vocals. "little-less hope" in particular has a wonderfully sinister effect thanks mainly to the fact that karn's voice sounds so much deeper and darker than usual. the result is almost chilling - but in a good way.

i'm sure loyal followers of karn's distinctive style are pleased that, even though the heavy eastern influence is very much to the fore here, the bass still stands out as the most dominant instrument. he will always be an outstanding all-round musician but for a while there (perhaps before david torn persuaded him otherwise) our mick seemed inclined to drop the instrument to a certain extent, maybe believing that he wasn't as accomplished as he wished he could be. well, if bestial cluster proved once and for all that he's a leader in his field, then the tooth mother confirms that and goes a long way to proving that the bass, supposedly no more than one half of the rhythm section, can not only lead the melody but create the centre around which the entire project revolves.

i could wax lyrical about this album until i spot a dairy herd passing by outside but i'd probably end up repeating myself, constantly throwing in words such as awesome, amazing, blinding etc. and worse still - i'd start to gush (if i haven't already). suffice to say, i had to buy a second copy because i was worried that something might happen to the first and i wouldn't be able to replace it immediately. is that sad? well, maybe, but i don't care; as long as i can keep listening to the tooth mother.

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