Ancient Teeth’s sophomore album, Humanizer, was released on March 8.

Ancient Teeth is Adrian Mottram supported in the studio and for live performances by a group of veteran musicians who have more than 103 years of musical experience.

After playing and touring with several Canadian bands, Mottram was burnt out and frustrated with the slow progress of his musical career. Not long after these feelings started, his first child was born and a family member became ill. It was here that he decided it was time to take charge of what he wanted.

“As I was watching this story happen with this person, I was motivated by that to not wait to take charge of my own life, and to put it into put it into practice. So, after you have a kid, and you have experienced the loss of a family member… it kind of fueled me to really put myself like if I was going to do this, I needed to do it now and I needed to stop just kind of dilly dallying,” said Mottram.

The band’s music is influenced by the early 90s grunge era, with songs full of a combination of harmonic vocals with heavy fuzzed-out guitars. They include rhythmic sections and improvised performances.

Humanizer is the follow-up album to the 2023 release Deathbed, released in 2023. While this album focuses on things experienced by everyone, including the loneliness and chaos of the pandemic, Mottram says the first was a memoir of watching a huge transformation.

“The first one (album) was about me, the second one is about everyone. It’s more of a universal observation of humanity, as opposed to a personal one,” said Mottram. “Writing was very quick because I had been making so many decisions so quickly with the songwriting, on the first record. The second one was just like, I could just sit down and fire out a song, and it made a lot of sense. I moved very quickly through that writing process. So, I feel like I was again, very inspired to get it out, and to make sure that the timeline that we have experienced during the pandemic was documented in a kind way.”

Songs in Humanizer explore topics such as isolation, chaos, and letting go to overcome.

The overall reaction to the album has been positives, as the band sees a large uptick in attention on streaming platforms and songs reaching international level.

Ancient Teeth looks forward to upcoming shows in the future, planning concerts in Canadian cities such as Toronto and Nova Scotia as well as going to Europe or Australia.

The album was produced and written by Mottram with Chris Hughes’ collaboration in some songs.