Snake River’s new album can’t be missed
author: jael bartnik | multimedia editor
Our staff has an interesting taste in music / Courtesy of Snake River
Snake River is such a cool fucking name
So, I’m not good at writing album reviews. Usually, when I like something, all I can say is, “This is good,” at Godzilla screeching levels and not describe anything else about the thing. I feel like music is such a subjective experience and that it all depends on who you’re talking to, what kind of mood they’re in, whether or not it’s Halloween and are they currently listening to the entire Misfits discography (oh wait, that’s just me).
I mean, I like lots of heavy stuff and I know that’s not for everybody. But, I like a lot of other stuff as well, some of which may shock and surprise you. No shock that I happen to think that anything done by Lizzo is on the all time banger list, but I digress. [Editor’s Note: Yeah… them.]
This is not an album review about that, it’s one about something completely different. As of late, I think if you want to try something new I would say check out Snake River and their new album Tread On To the Unknown You. Recently released on Sept. 24, it’s already up on their bandcamp and ready for listening. Borrowing some blue grass, psychedelic rock and a saxophone at some point (or at least that’s what it sounded like on the record) this is definitely an album you’ll wanna take for a spin.
This is a record that gives you a variety of both good vibe bops, as well as some more pensive broody tracks that balance it all out. Honestly, as I was sitting in my office click-clacking away on this article, all I could think was how much I wanted to be outside and for it to be summer again. This would be some sick backyard ‘hangs in the sun’ kind of jam. Although not all songs are as upbeat as say, “High/Low” or “Leave A Line”, (Sadly enough though I was stuck in an office with no windows but the tunes were fantastic) some of the tracks like “Mr. McKruski IV: No One Is Listening” sound more eerie, slightly darker.
The thing I find the most interesting is the instrumentation, the use of guitar and how it sounds pretty twangy in a few songs. The gradual buildup in “Mr. McKruski IV:
No One Is Listening” has a gentle swell which is interrupted by a guitar suddenly pushed into over drive with intense distortion that makes you feel like your being thrown through a glass window. I mean this in a good way because, for me, the mind numbing meditative state of some psychedelic music can feel like it goes on for hours and hours.
One of the other differences between this and the various types of psyche music is that it doesn’t feel like it drags on. You can get lost in a train of thought, but you’re still interested and attentive to what you’re listening to. Anyways, I already feel kind of pretentious writing this article, so please go out, listen for yourself, and take my opinions with a grain of salt because by no means am I a music expert.
However, I do sincerely think that this album is rad and if you want to check it out and listen to some good, good shit then go to Snack River’s bandcamp and check out their new album. If you want something that is slow and mellow but shakes it up I would say give this a listen. I would recommend listening to it outside in the sun with some good buds, but it’ll make even a windowless office an entertaining place to be
