Music
SONGS ABOUT heartbreak never go out of style, and Suki Waterhouse takes advantage of this fact. Milk Teeth (2022)—a six-track-long treasury of the London-based singer-songwriter’s early work, including her 2016 debut single “Brutally”—is a testament to this. The EP also introduces a fresh sound for Waterhouse through the previously unreleased opening track “Neon Signs.” The remaining five songs are familiar, nostalgic, and have been well-loved by her listeners for years.
The persistent theme throughout the entire EP is endless pining. This rings true: Waterhouse loves love, but she may love the thrill and torment of the subsequent heartbreak even more. Love is a matter of life and death—it’s what we’re put on this planet for—and she sits pained but content on the bed she makes for herself after each (failed) attempt at a lasting romantic connection.
The chorus of closing track “Brutally” surmises just this as she sings: “Seems to me, it’s over / I’ll get used to it eventually / Over and over again, brutally.” Over and over again, Waterhouse is chronically heartbroken, but her songs rarely feel repetitive. Each track in the EP details a different situation or perspective that leaves fans in the same state of grief as the singer. Coupled with these are melodies so earnest that it’ll take you a while to get sick of them.
Unfortunately, “Johanna” is one track in particular that departs from her usual style. It follows the singer as she navigates the previously uncharted waters of having an unattainable crush on a woman. Despite its novelty, “Johanna” pales in comparison to the rest of the EP, given its rather tiresome drawl and one-dimensional lyrics.
However, where she’s lacking in “Johanna,” Waterhouse makes up for in “Good Looking,” which is her biggest hit yet. With lines like “The skyline falls as I try to make sense of it all / I thought I’d uncovered your secrets but turns out there’s more,” the track presents the singer at her most lyrically mature.
Standout “Neon Signs” shows us yet another side of the singer, one that’s riddled with grunge and angst–it’s by far her most punk work yet. Waterhouse seems to channel her inner Karen O mid-Crush Songs era as she croons, “That’s what happens when you believe delusions / A broken heart is a f***ing nuisance.” While the track itself is refreshing in its variation from her usual style, punk is unknown territory for Waterhouse—and it shows. She doesn’t contribute much to the conversation, with the song being a half-baked and derivative rehashing of the greats who have come before her.
Ultimately, Waterhouse’s forte still lies in melodrama. She continues to shine in the heart-wrenching longing that takes center stage in her singles “Valentine” and “Coolest Place in the World,” originally released in 2018 and 2019, respectively. It’s evident that she’s at her best in these two tracks; you can hear the sincerity in both her lyricism and musical composition. In these powerful ballads, she’s stark naked, save for the bleeding heart on her sleeve. It’s precisely this rawness that made us fall in love with her work in the first place.
If you’ve never been romantically ruined, you can sit comfortably and live vicariously through the wounding sagas documented in Milk Teeth. Chances are you’ll even belt out the lyrics you don’t at all relate to but, oddly enough, wish you could. Although the EP lasts just shy of 19 minutes, it’ll leave you devastated without even being heartbroken yourself by the end of it.
