The allure of Snõõper is inescapable. It was apparent at this year’s SXSW, which saw crowds of music professionals pile into tiny, sweaty rooms, desperate to catch a glimpse of their captivating live shows. It is apparent in their dedicated fanbase back home in Nashville, their close friendships with the other bands from the ‘Egg Punk’ scene, and the numerous tour announcements launching them to new territories, as they spread their infectious disease. The reality is, nothing Snõõper have recorded equates to the sheer intensity and fun of their live shows, but their debut album ‘Super Snõõper’, out today via Third Man Records, comes fantastically close.
After swerving through a nostalgic high-speed tour seemingly in tribute to the long and intricate history of rapid post-punk and hardcore that preceded Snõõper’s arrival, the album truly begins on its delightfully playful second track ‘Bedbugs’. At only 34 seconds long, the song is the perfect introduction to the journey the listener is about to undertake, using humorous storytelling and vivid imagery in conjunction with breakneck rhythm and complex guitar. Once we are launched into this world, there’s no looking back. The singles, ‘Pod’, ‘Fitness’ and ‘Powerball’ remain as striking and compelling as they did as standalone tracks, but they fit the narrative of the album so well that they act as the coherent thread tying the various directions together.
As short as ‘Super Snõõper’ is, fitting 16 tracks into 24 minutes is an impressive feat alone, it never wavers in energy or originality, remaining consistently thrilling and entertaining as it launches in a myriad of directions. The exercise theme established on singles such as ‘Fitness’ is continued on tracks such as ‘Running’, which balances jarring, subversive melodies with driven, catchy rhythms. The three ‘Stretching’ tracks disrupt the momentum of the rest of the album, providing a moment of respite and exploration away from the high energy, rapid tempo. On these tracks Snõõper incorporate even more surreal and unusual sonic signifiers, integrating everything from drum and bass to country and lofi, in a bold indication that they have far more to draw on and explore in future projects.
It truly feels like Snõõper have managed to capture something sorely missing from music in recent decades. There is so much energy and joy in the tracks, they are so playfully constructed and imbued with non-pretentious humour, that it feels like a refreshing diversion from the production heavy and sometimes overly serious albums of the modern day. Snõõper have succeeded in creating an album that celebrates the joy of live music, while not sacrificing any of their energy, originality or fun in the process.
8/10
Words: Eve Boothroyd
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