Dear Friends,
Well, it isn’t as snowy here as was promised. That is a good thing. I suppose “Slow and low, that is the tempo…” is still a good thing tomorrow morning.
The Beasties were right.
*****
Brief one today…too much to do. The road beckons, but yesterday was shitty in one way. Teresa, Ashton, and my mom had to put our cat, Lucy, down. Her liver failed and there was very little the vet could have done from they were told except try to keep her alive for a few more days.
Lucy was kind of ‘my’ cat. She hung out with me the most. She was…well, she was a tough one. I’m going to have to process this a bit more.
Tired of feeling sad, though. That’s for sure.
*****
Some years ago, The Father Figures played a show with a local Phoenix band, Snake! Snake! Snakes! and they were amazing. I was blown away by how they didn’t sound like a local band at all. They sounded like a band that I would have been more than happy to pay good money to go see.
It didn’t hurt that the guys in the band were super cool, either. Over the next few years, I saw them a few times when they played shows with my buddies, No Volcano, and enjoyed them every time. I also got turned onto their recorded output and absolutely fell in love with their 2016 record, Tranquilo.
Since Snake! Snake! Snakes! was not playing a ton of shows, I had to be satisfied with listening to their music when I could. Rhondi and I both liked Tranquilo quite a lot, so it was not uncommon to hear tracks from the record when we were driving somewhere together. The tracks fit in perfectly with many of the bands that we both love.
In my recent listening, I hear a couple of different bands in their sound that I didn’t hear quite so clearly when I was first introduced to the band. I hear similarities to another Arizona favorite, Lenguas Largas, and I also hear some Velvet Underground in there. It’s quite an interesting combination.
I was always a bit awed by how the band could kick so much ass and act like they were just happy to be opening whatever show they were playing. Personally, I thought they kicked our ass big time when we played with them, but they were humble and unassuming. Just happy to be there and playing a show. That’s a quality that so many musicians lack.
“Mantra” kicks off Tranquilo with some subtle, jangly guitar before the dreamy, Velvet-ish vocals come in. Like a good Velvets song, “Mantra” swells and gets more and more powerful as the song builds. The record never really lets up from there.
“In My Head” very much reminds me of Lenguas Largas. It is in the vocals, mostly, but the song is well crafted and a fine example, as they all are, of killer, beautiful, indie pop. There is plenty of power in there, too.
“O Death” is a favorite. For some reason, songs that are track three on records, at least for me, have to be great. It’s like a baseball team, I think. The three hitter has to be good.
“War Song” is another great track. Fuzzy and kind of big sounding, I like how the song just does its thing and comes across like it doesn’t give a shit what anyone thinks. I guess I’m trying to say that the song has attitude and lots of it.
As I listen, I realize that one of the things that I loved about this record almost ten years ago was that it just gets stronger and stronger. “Travelin” sounds like something you could have heard from any era of rock and roll. It’s super catchy and, like all of them, the guitars sound great. Jon Messenger, the singer/guitar player just has a knack for making things sound good. He wasn’t alone there, either, because Dan Tripp is one of the best guitarists in town.
Tranquilo is a really wonderful record and I’m going to just savor it for a while. I can’t think of any more great things to say about it, so it’s time to let it go. If you want to ever talk about how rad Snake! Snake! Snakes! were, because sadly, I think they have broken up, I would be happy to sit down and discuss it anytime. If I am wrong and just misinformed, I hope to hear new music or see them play again.
Side B is all killer and no filler. That’s another thing I can say. HA!
Well done, dudes. Thanks for all the entertainment! I appreciate the goodness of what you were laying down.
*****
See you tomorrow.
FrAIsty!
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