Tooth are a London quartet carving out a space between second-wave emo vulnerability and the grit of garage rock. Formed by vocalist and guitarist Tom Pollock, bassist Charlie Arnison, and drummer Roy Lowe, the band have steadily sharpened their sound over the past few years, building momentum through emotionally charged singles and intense live shows.
Blending the melodic introspection of early-2000s emo with raw, driving instrumentation, Tooth balance catharsis with control. Their songwriting leans into nostalgia without feeling derivative, instead reframing youthful anxiety through a modern lens.
Restless in Bloom is Tooth’s debut EP, released 12 June via Soil To The Sun Recordings. The five-track project includes previously released singles “The Age of Innocence” and “Medicine,” alongside new material that deepens the band’s thematic focus on transition and identity.
The EP was recorded at Church Studios in Crouch End with producer Kev Jones (Wunderhorse), mixed by Vince Ratti (Turnover, Scowl), and mastered by Will Yip (Turnstile, Title Fight). That production pedigree adds clarity and punch while preserving the band’s urgency and emotional grit.
“Restless in Bloom” captures the EP’s emotional thesis. The phrase originated from a poetry zine, symbolising youth on the verge of transformation — blossoming into something unfamiliar and uncertain.
Pollock explains that the song explores two people drifting apart as they outgrow adolescence, set against the intimate backdrop of a relationship losing its spark. There’s a tension between freedom and apprehension in the lyrics — a fidgeting anxiety about what comes next once youth begins to fade. Musically, it mirrors that restlessness: urgent yet reflective, expansive yet tightly wound.
With festival slots at Wilderness and Reading & Leeds on the horizon and a headline UK tour underway, Tooth are entering a breakout moment. The EP’s combination of nostalgic emo textures and contemporary urgency is resonating with audiences craving emotionally direct guitar music.
At a time when alternative rock is reconnecting with its early-2000s roots, Restless in Bloom feels both timely and sincere. It’s not revival for the sake of aesthetics — it’s a band confronting growth, disillusionment, and possibility head-on, and that authenticity is striking a chord.