I Don’t Believe in Bad Luck is the second full-length album from Brooklyn-based art punk band Tea Eater, and somehow, this is my first encounter with them. Considering this is an album that not only has a vinyl release but also comes with a dedicated limited-edition tarot deck—given my love of female-led bands and all things witchy—it was surely destiny that I’d eventually stumble upon them.
Speaking of which, the album’s concept revolves around a hotline psychic who’s absolutely sick of everyone, including herself. In the title track, I Don’t Believe in Bad Luck, singer Tarra Thiessen delivers the line: “I don’t care what you manifested today, I don’t care what your cats did today.” (Side note: Can I just point out that, personally, no matter who you are or how well I know you, I will always want to know what your cats did today.) If that’s not the voice of a completely fed-up psychic, I don’t know what is.
This whole album is quirky and unique yet dark, gritty, grungy, and heavy. It’s a musical contradiction—in the best way possible. On one hand, you have You Again, a track dripping with bitter anger, and Invasion of the Bee Girls, which erupts into punk-metal screams. On the other, you get a Le Tigre-style banger dedicated to butter (aptly titled Butter) and The Waffle Song, which proudly rhymes waffle with awful.
The vocals are sassy, the riffs are dirty, and the whole thing is served with a little chaos and a side order of silliness. If you like your punk with attitude, unpredictability, and a touch of the absurd, I Don’t Believe in Bad Luck might just be your new obsession.
I Don’t Believe in Bad Luck is out now and you can buy it here
Tea Eater Socials: Instagram/Facebook
Review by Hayley Foster da Silva
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