Straight White Teeth’s Urgent Yet Tender Indiepop Ballad “yml” Glows With the Warmth of Heartfelt Affection

Straight White Teeth, photo courtesy the artist

Straight White Teeth brings to its song “yml” the kind of tender and earnest sensibility that graced some of the better underground indiepop of the 2000s like Microphones, Wolf Colonel and Transistor Radio Sound. The letters may or may not stand for the lyric “You’re my love” in the chorus but the use of those letters in the title is emblematic of the gentle quality of this song that’s a poignantly endearing declaration of affection for a loved one that is heartfelt and quietly passionate in a way that suggests maybe to make a bigger production would introduce a level of extravagant dishonesty that might embarrass. Within the song’s lyrics are words revealing a level of vulnerability and sensitivity that really anchors the sentiments and the lush yet spare arrangements. An energetic and at times borderline atonal piano melody runs throughout that works like a rhythmic feature over which the introspective vocals float and in the choruses echoes ever so slightly in a touch of reverb. It’s an exercise in songwriting economy without short changing what is clearly a sincere statement of love felt to the core. Listen to “yml” on Soundcloud and follow Straight White Teeth at the links provided.