Without first hearing music from a band named Hands & Teeth, you might conjure imagery of something messy… or animalistic – I think the first time I’d ever heard their name I was imagining myself eating a massive bowl of chicken wings.

I couldn’t have been further from capturing their essence with that image if I’d really tried.

With their latest release – and debut full-length – Hunting Season, the Toronto-based experimental folk-pop quintet have managed to project much more than an image that would simply satiate my hunger pangs.

This reviewer’s first experience with Hands & Teeth was back in the spring of 2011 for an episode of our live video series WIRED, where we got the chance to see some early arrangements of a few of the tracks that would ultimately appear on Hunting Season.

Things haven’t changed all that much for some of the tracks, but the level of polish here is evident – Noah Mintz at Lacquer Channel Mastering has done a solid job on this record: it’s sharp and punchy, with opening track “It’s Coming Back” starting things off with the sort of prominent bass tones that ring in your ears, quickly joined by the dual-harmonized vocals of Natasha Pasternak and Kevin Black that will emanate throughout the rest of the album.

The titular first single “Hunting Season” comes off as a folk song that wants to be a rock song, with an overlain fuzzy electric guitar intro that makes regular reappearances throughout amongst the multilayered wordplay – but above all else the song’s a definite feel-good track.

The full-length and radio-edit versions of “Hunting Season” each gives off a slightly different feel based on the inclusion or omission of the extended electric guitar solo ending – though with the solo included, the song really does successfully reach that rock status from it’s folk song origins. [NOTE: apparently it now also appears in an online McDonald's campaign... presumably the company wants people to feel good from eating their ... food...]

The tracks that appear in the aforementioned video “All That Was” and “Le Petit Voleur” are definite favourites – the former features some clashing musical ideas that don’t seem like they ought to fit together at first glance: arpeggiated guitar verses and rim-shot drum work layered beneath Pasternak’s ethereal voice, before everything is quickly jacked to 11 for the chorus as the distortion kicks in and Black jumps in with the “Got to go where my voice is real” – the harmonies once again quickly ensue for the “I can’t see outta this haze” prelude to the killer mid-song breakdown.

Alternately, “Le Petit Voleur” features a really laid-back feel that conjures a floating feeling amongst the walking bass line and Pasternak’s singing – but both tracks help to showcase the two drastically different sides to the band’s songwriting style.

“Sound Of Hamilton” has a deliberate fuzz about the guitar and vocal work, as well as a strange distortion on the keys that ultimately causes it to sound like it’s being projected from a tin can… and for a song that’s musically so sinister-sounding to begin with, it’s all the more effective.

“Missing” and “Song 8″ both have some really great multi-part harmonies and toe-tap-inducing guitar/keys, and the opening lick on “Parallel States” is a quick attention-grabber. This trio of tracks are also really reminiscent of some mid-era Wings material and are sure to be solid staples of future live shows long after this album has hit the bottom of Hands & Teeth’s sure-to-be high-piled discography.

Clearly, the stand-outs are difficult to peg – and for good reason. There’s a little something for everyone on this release, and the album has enough powerful tracks to drop a delicious deer from 100 yards – reflecting solely on the album’s title Hunting Season: if this was their ultimate intention, then Hands & Teeth have succeeded in spades.

- RYAN STEPHENSON PRICE