Snappy Little Numbers (2026)
It seems inconcievable to me that the first time I wrote about Hooper was 14 years ago. I picked up a 7" of theirs and it not only kicked off my fandom of the band, but opened the door to the world of the entire Snappy Little Numbers label. It was definitely an important record that I acquired up over the years and it's led me to so many great things, not the least of which are the various Hooper releases that have come out in the intervening years. The news one is in the form of a 12" EP called Carry Your Own Saints.
Now, longtime readers may or may not remember that I am predisposed to dislike 12" EPs. I cannot explain exactly why I find them annoying, but I do. If you don't have enough songs for a full album, either wait or just put out a 7". That's just one of my weird rules that I don't expect anyone else to follow, but there's just something so much more satisfying to me to have a full album to listen to. But enough whining about other people not doing the exact, weirdly specific thing that I want, there's new Hooper songs to discuss.
I was a little worried at first as the EP doesn't really start off with a bang. "Dulouz" is a pretty slow song, that kind of keeps grooving to its lower-mid tempo energy and just sort of stays there. There's no big hook or anything to really smack you in the face and announce their arrival. It feels like the band is setting the table for the songs that follow, which would work better on a full length than it does on an EP where there's a much smaller table to set.
Luckily, things pick up immediately for the second track, "92U." Here we have the fuzzier, more energetic Hooper that I have known and loved all of this time. The rest of the EP carries on in this tradition. This isn't to say that the other four songs are all fast ones, but they have the energy and the hooks that I'm used to getting from this band.
Each time Hooper puts out a release it's never really the same thing that you've gotten before. While the band usually has a certain tone that they stick to, the songs themselves tend to be pretty varied overall. I can always point to my favorites from each album and can also find a couple that don't connect with me quite the same way. I'm not going to lie, I prefer it when they are uptempo, but as long as they sneak in a good hook, I can get down with something more subdued as well. I also want to call out the cool little lyric booklet/zine thing that this EP comes with. It really stands out as a nice addition to the whole package.
Carry Your Own Saints is a good EP. With "92U" and "Farther" you have 2 songs that would be standouts on any of their albums. "Arclight" and "Lurid Blue" slow things down a bit, but still have the hooks and energy that I'm looking for. "Dulouz" isn't really my bag, though I think it would probably make more sense to me in the context of a full album (yes, I am going to beat that EP stuff into the ground today, sorry). All in all, it's a fun release and definitely worth grabbing if you're a fan of the band.
Hooper - Carry Your Own Saints:
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