On Costilla, the forthcoming album from Straight White Teeth, musician and writer Patrick McGuire exchanges sardonic synth-laden indie pop for sincere acoustic guitars and lush layered vocals to build affecting songs that are shaped by the comfort of nostalgia as much as they are by modern dread. With an unapologetic penchant for the pensive folk music of Nick Drake and Elliott Smith, McGuire croons about performing in front of empty rooms in the midwest with a former band, suffering through a serious bike accident in Philadelphia, and criss-crossing North America in search for a home with his partner and collaborator, illustrator Ella Trujillo. Costilla, which derives its name from the rural New Mexican community where McGuire and Trujillo settled, was born out of the pursuit for agency and connection in a world filled with increasing malice and peril.
Featuring new interpretations of previously released songs like “Flowering” and “The Night Washes Its Face” along with new tracks, Costilla weaves together a disparate array of sounds and stories into a singular earnest musical statement marked by its startling intimacy and bucolic, windswept grandeur.
Tonight, I'll debut songs from my new forthcoming album Costilla through a YouTube live-stream. If you're curious about the new music I've been writing and recording this year, tune in for this intimate acoustic performance: www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBQm0A2toiE
Thanks to Joey Howell and Hilary Greene for filming live performances of two songs from my upcoming album. They were filmed near my home in northern New Mexico. Check em out:
"Flowering" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D935fkgexwg
"My Hand in the Bad Dog's Mouth" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFa8Fnuz_0g
I hope everyone is staying safe and sane during these crazy times. I've been lucky to have lots of music to work on these days, and am thrilled to share my new album with you soon. On November 18th, I'll be streaming a live acoustic set from Union Hall in Denver on YouTube. If you're curious about what sort of new music I'm making, don't miss this free show:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBQm0A2toiE
-Patrick
Estoy usando Google Translate para comunicarme en español, así que tenga paciencia conmigo. Mucha gente de México, Costa Rica, Guatemala y otros países de la región están conociendo mi música por primera vez de Beto Pasillas. Solo quería agradecerles por escuchar, realmente significa mucho para mí. Además, muchas gracias a Beto por presentar mi canción. No estoy en las redes sociales, pero puedes seguirme aquí en mi sitio web o registrándote en mi lista de correo electrónico. Tan pronto como sea seguro, me encantaría hacer una gira por América Latina algún día. Se está trabajando en un nuevo álbum acústico que incluye "Flowering" y algunas otras canciones que me entusiasman mucho. Además, estoy transmitiendo una actuación acústica con canciones nuevas y antiguas la noche del 18 de noviembre, así que no te la pierdas. Espero que todos estén a salvo durante estos tiempos difíciles. -Patrick
Hi everyone,
Excited to share that I'll be performing a live-streamed acoustic set from Union Hall in Denver on 11/18. Details coming soon. 
---Details soon---
Due to coronavirus concerns, our upcoming Denver and Santa Fe shows are being postponed. It's not ideal, but I completely agree with the decision to move the shows to a later date and am taking the opportunity to create some new music during this unexpected downtime. If you purchased tickets to one of the We Should Remember This shows in Denver, Union Hall will get in touch with you soon about cancelation and refund details. Take care of yourselves, and I look forward to sharing new music with you and rescheduling these shows.
-Patrick
Very happy to announce that Straight White Teeth is gearing up for a set of immersive musical and visual performances in March with a full band. These performances will be unlike anything I've ever been a part of in my music career, and I hope you'll join us if you're in Colorado. Details and ticket links below:
Join us for We Should Remember This, an immersive musical and visual performance designed specifically for Union Hall by artist Ella Trujillo, Patrick McGuire, the songwriter and multi-instrumentalist behind Straight White Teeth, and frequent collaborator Joey Howell.
Straight White Teeth is the dream pop project of songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Patrick McGuire. After McGuire’s Denver-based band Flashbulb Fires unexpectedly disbanded in 2014, he began composing tracks using his acoustic guitar and a small midi keyboard. A solo endeavor, the songs on Charming Pet GIFs were written and recorded by McGuire in the bedroom of his rural New Mexican home throughout the winter of 2018.
An honest and atmospheric record, Charming Pet GIFs is a timely exploration into the dark aftereffects of a life lived constantly on the internet. “It's an album that explores humanity's fraught relationship with the internet,” explains McGuire. “It explores things like tech addiction, singularity, and the idea that the internet is a massive, messy reflection of humanity––war, sex, friendship, communication, loyalty, betrayal, etc.”
Along with her partner, musician Patrick McGuire, and collaborator Joey Howell, Ella has designed an immersive performance experience specifically for Union Hall. We Should Remember This blends live music performance and sound design with a space-defining animation experience using light and dimension. Colorado-based poet Eleanor Perry-Smith will also collaborate with Straight White Teeth for this project.
The artists respectfully ask that audience members don't record the performances on smartphones and share them on social media. Their hope is that We Should Remember This will be an unfiltered performance experienced in the moment without the distractions of handheld tech and the internet.
This immersive sound and visual experience is not to be missed! Ticket purchases include access to an open bar courtesy of Union Hall and our sponsors.
Tickets:
Album Art by Ella Trujillo
I'm happy to announce that I've recently shared seven previously unreleased demos and have reissued A Merciful, an EP I recorded and released under the name Jeremy Flood in 2011. I'm calling the collection of demos Olds. These songs are unpolished and flawed, but they stayed demos and never became SWT official releases because I wasn't able to translate the initial energy I captured while writing them. They're special to me, and I hope you take a minute to listen. You can listen to A Merciful and Olds on Spotify, Apple Music, Soundcloud, BandCamp, and pretty much anywhere you like to listen to music online.
Thanks, and happy new year!
Hi everyone,
I'm thrilled and a bit bewildered to announce that my song "Lifetime" was recently used in a Gucci fashion film, which you can see here. The production is incredible, and it's humbling to see something you made at your kitchen table get used in such a surreal, gorgeous context. A couple of new shows have been added to the calendar, with many more to come in 2020. Specifically, we have big news for Denver folks that we'll announce very soon. And big thanks to WKNC in Raleigh and the BIRP and Compact Cassette playlists for playing songs from the new album this fall. As always, thanks for supporting Straight White Teeth.
-Patrick
