Teether and Kuya NeilPlay Jump to playlist

YEARN IV, out via Chapter Music, marks the debut full-length album from Naarm/Melbourne and London-based duo Teether & Kuya Neil following their mixtapes GLYPH (2021) and STRESSOR (2023). Together, they create what they describe as a "patchwork of old and new" sounds, drawing from an array of influences like footwork, gqom, Budots, hip hop and metal. Songs explore the tension between isolation and connection, cultural displacement, and the search for identity in a fragmented digital landscape.

Across the album's 13 tracks, the duo moves between intensity and calm. Opener 'SCRATCH THE FLEA POINT' sets the tone with gothic guitars clashing against vicious hi-hats, featuring Nerdie from Korean-Australian rap group 1300. 'ZOO' delivers paranoid trap foundations and ringtone melodies with harrowing predator vs prey lyrics, while 'BLUSH' shifts to a gentler mood, where crisp UK garage beats and shimmering autotuned hooks evoke early-2000s internet nostalgia. On 'CHANEL', Wergaia/Wemba Wemba vocalist Alice Skye joins Teether for a poignant "guitar driven lament for Australia's myopic cultural landscape."

The album itself was recorded largely in a beach-side house in the Mornington Peninsula with fairly minimal gear, an intentional limitation that became a strength. Instead of relying on digital production, they jammed together using guitars, bass, and drum machines. Kuya Neil says this approach gave the tracks an organic, band feel reminiscent of their teenage days playing instruments in their bedrooms.

For the chance to win a copy of this week's Album Of The Week, Triple R subscribers can enter here before Sunday 11 May 2025. We have a prize policy of 1 album per subscriber per month so we can share the love and make it fair for all!

Teether and Kuya Neil

YEARN IV

Teether & Kuya Neil