I love Snõõper’s description of themselves as “a band who, in a 33 ⅓ RPM world, make 45 RPM music they play at 78 RPM.” Alternatively, you can use the shorter term “egg punk.”
Their reputation to date has been built on songs that are short, sharp shocks to the system, usually clocking in at under two minutes (and sometimes less). Their debut album, splendidly titled Super Snõõper, boasts 13 songs lasting less than 18 minutes… until the last track.
At more than five minutes, Running is a marathon after that baker’s dozen of sprints, evolving from a metronomic bass groove into an acid-soaked guitar solo by the end.
“Running was written deep in the pandemic when people began to feel hopeless and everything began to feel really scary,” says singer Blair Tramel. “When things feel out of control we can always get out of our minds and into our bodies. Move, breathe, jump, put one foot in front of the other.”
In line with that theme, the accompanying video is shot in the style of a 1980s keep-fit video, complete with the fashions of the day – mullets and shell suits.
Formed in 2020, initially as a studio-only project to occupy themselves during lockdown by Tramel, a video artist, and guitarist Connor Cummins, they issued their debut EP, Music for Spies, in October 2020. The five-song Snõõper appeared in May 2021, followed six months later by Compilation of The…Hits, a cassette featuring those two EPs plus a pair of bonus tracks.
In 2022, Snõõper stepped out of the studio and began performing live, with Tramel and Cummins joined by drummer Cam Sarrett, guitarist Ian Teeple, and bassist Happy Haugen. One of their raucous live shows – incorporating videos and puppetry – was taped and given a release on cassette and digital formats as Live at Exit/In 11-23-22, a gig staged to celebrate the release of another EP, the five-song Town Topic.
They were seen in Nashville by fellow resident Jack White and signed to his Third Man Records for this debut album. I’m looking forward to catching them when they come here towards the end of the year for their first UK tour.
In the meantime, enjoy a unique band who cite such diverse influences as The Sopranos and Sesame Street, fellow punk bands Machine Girl and The Spits, and gardening.