Crooked Teeth Releases “Hallelujah (Wish I Never Knew Ya)”
California based alternative pop artist Crooked Teeth has released the music video for his recent single titled “Hallelujah (Wish I Never Knew Ya).” The undeniable alt-pop anthem, resembles a beautiful collision of self-titled era blink-182 and The Chainsmokers. The new single was produced and mixed by Matt Malpass (Machine Gun Kelly, trippie redd, blink-182).
On the new single he shares, "Hallelujah (Wish I Never Knew Ya)" is a song about liberating one's self from the emotional baggage that comes with let downs, heartbreak and the internal struggle to find inner peace."
Even though he trades in energetic, best-when-played-loud pop-rock, CROOKED TEETH frontman Tyson Evans has learned that sometimes it’s best to let silence lead the way.
“I started making the drive from Santa Cruz down to LA to write songs last year,” Evans says. “I loved driving because it let me be in my head and block out the noise. I wouldn’t even listen to a podcast or music. I’d just sit in silence with myself and come to peace with things in life.”
There’s seemingly no shortage of things to think over in today’s modern world, and since forming in 2016 (first as a full band and later morphing into a solo project), Crooked Teeth has mused on many of them – with his heart fully on his sleeve, packaging emotional heft and life’s big challenges into shiny, anthemic emo-tinged songs.
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A back catalog including 2018’s Rude Records debut Honey, 2019’s Where Did All Our Time Go?, and self-released singles like “Plight” and “Light Me Up” (written with Four Year Strong’s Alan Day) have garnered multiple millions of Spotify streams, and fans across the country have seen Evans making noise – and a name for himself – on Audiotree as well as stages with This Wild Life, Emo Nite LA, Hot Mulligan, and Grayscale.
Now, with his brand-new single, “Hallelujah (Wish I Never Knew Ya),” Crooked Teeth is entering his most fully realized musical era yet. Combining the percussive buoyancy of blink-182’s heyday with the spirit of classic emo and elastic, modern production, “Hallelujah (Wish I Never Knew Ya)” is a skyscraping slice of pop that tackles a well-trod lyrical road – but with far more maturity than many of the genre’s torchbearers were known for.
“It’s about letting go, finally being able to move past the negativity of a failed relationship,” he says of the track. “It’s not rooted in malice. Sometimes you just need to finally be at peace and clean the cobwebs out. As a queer, cis man, I don’t want to spend time or energy tearing people down. I always want to find a way to be self-reflective.”
It’s a welcome detour in a scene known for its fair share of vindictive one-liners, as Evans instead mines a similar emotional depth and nuance – not to mention sonic diversity – found on some of his favorite albums, seminal early 2000s releases like American Idiot and Bleed American. “I believe in a cohesive feel and consistent rock sound,” he begins. “But I don’t want to be held back by what people expect.”
That extends to both Crooked Teeth’s listeners and collaborators. Finally finding the freedom to chase his muse has been one of the most rewarding parts of downsizing the band – but it’s also one Evans admits at first came with a fair amount of trepidation.
“I was really scared to do it myself and say ‘this is what Crooked Teeth is,’” he explains. “But every day I feel more and more excited. I always feel insecure about physical stuff, even something like walking straight. The only time I really feel comfortable being totally active and secure in my footing is when I’m onstage playing music. This just feels right.”
