by The Snakes
Fresh Melbourne outfit The Snakes have slithered out from under their rock in the past year and landed unabashedly on the steps of the pop-punk Parthenon.
The sound is more of a deep dive into the punk chronicles than a gentle nostalgic nod. Distorted vocals - tick. Rangey organ and tight drum fills - tick. Black garb and undercuts - tick. Drug references and explicit lyrics - tick.
Clocking in at under 30 mins, the self-titled mini-LP is 10 short bursts of full pop-punk flex.
'Open Space Living' quickly sets the dark eyeliner mood.
'Solid Income', the album’s longest track at 2:52, still has time for a bridge, but no changes. "Time for better, time for worse. I’m gonna hear the second verse. It’s all right."
'Snakes Bday' picks things up with a clap, more in the The Cure vein than The Dead Kennedys.
'Who Buys Cocaine' - "Will let them try to impress you. Don’t let them die to undress you. Wait your turn" - is destined to become a Melbourne anthem, as the low-grade marching powder creeps on.
The group is leaning heavily on the pop punk aesthetics in these early days, but they’re nailing it. Tame Impala recreated the past in the present and lived to tell the tale. Is middle-class Melbourne still capable of creating real punk music again? (Tropical Fuck Storm moved to Nagambie to hone their bogan edge). Time will tell, but the start looks promising.
Catch The Snakes live for some extra hiss at the Tote on Thursday, April 18 ($13.30).
The Snakes is available via Anti Fade Records on Bandcamp.
Karl Hector & The Malcouns - 'Asteroid'
Altın Gün - 'Süpürgesi Yoncadan'
Charles Jenkins - 'Fairfield In The Rain'
The Blassics - 'In a Sincere Way'
David Marston - 'Ragamuffin'
Soft Rubbish - 'Not In The Game'
Jim Jarmusch / Lee Ranaldo / Marc Urselli / Balazs Pandi - 'Andvari'
The Twilight Sad - 'Shooting Dennis Hopper Shooting'
Memphis LK -'Speak Honestly'
This week's Top 10:
