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Mar 05, 2021 By Caleb Campbell Photography by Joe Calixto

Crooked Teeth and Talker, two rising new voices in alt rock, have teamed up for a new single, “Light Me Up,” both artists’ first release of 2021. Together Crooked Teeth and Talker summon the same crossover appeal that made Warped Tour bands like Jimmy Eat World and Paramore huge in the 2000s. Bombastic pop hooks, rollicking punk tempos, and heartfelt emo-tinged lyrics all come together for a timeless combination.

“Light Me Up” was written with that pop element in mind, bringing on Four Year Strong’s Alan Day to co-write the song and Courtney Ballard (All Time Low, Good Charlotte, Anti-Flag, Waterparks) to mix it. The driving acoustic intro verse explodes into a dizzying chorus, all backing rousing performances from Crooked Teeth and Talker. Talker initially acts as a crystalline counterpoint to Crooked Teeth frontman Tyson Evans, locking in airtight harmony with Evans vocals. But both deliver their own moments of fiery attitude, fitting perfectly together in the pop punk duet. All the grown-up emo kids out there won’t want to miss out on “Light Me Up.”

As Crooked Teeth explains, the track is all about the lingering anger and frustrations that color breakups. “One thing I was feeling a lot was this weird sense of gaslighting – saying that things didn’t happen in the way that they did or things that are blatantly not factual or invalidating my emotions over it… I felt used out of all of it, like when you bum a cigarette off somebody – maybe you don’t even really smoke, but you bum a cigarette off someone to kill time… I was the cigarette that got bummed and then put out.” Check out the song and video below.