Hooper – Swim the Races Nobody Wants LP

Snappy Little Numbers (2023)

In 2013, Hooper released their first album, How to Become a Ghost. I adored that record and it was one of my very favorites of that year. Five years later in 2018, the band put out their second album, No Monument. And in all honesty, I didn’t like that one quite as much. It was still a good record, but it didn’t grab me quite the same way that Hooper’s debut did. Five years on from that, Hooper is back with their third LP. Ten years on from their debut, am I still digging this band the way I once did? Yeah, I am.

Swim the Races Nobody Wants is a really strong album. Is it a return to the sounds of their first album? No, it’s still different, but for me they’ve found a sweet spot between the sound of their first two albums. There are post punk influences, particularly in how the guitar riffs are structured, but I feel that this album has a much stronger grasp of hooks and melodies that the last one. There are plenty of fist pumpers and sing along choruses again, while still showing a growth in sound from the first album that you’d really have to expect ten years later. I’m sure not the same person I was ten years ago.

Hooper was the first band on Snappy Little Numbers that I ever wrote about. They were the gateway drug that opened up an opportunity to hear so many other incredible bands over the years. The fact that they are still kicking and putting out records as good as this one is the sort of thing that needs to be celebrated. This is definitely one of the better records to come out this year and should be checked out for sure.

Hooper – Swim the Races Nobody Wants:
https://snappylittlenumbers.bandcamp.com/album/swim-the-races-nobody-wants

Spells / Hooper - Rock N Roll Swap Meet: Day 1 Spilt 7" - Pink Vinyl (/220)

Snappy Little Numbers (2021)

I do not claim to be an all seeing, all knowing oracle of punk rock information, but I do own a few punk rock records.  The gimmick behind this particular split 7" isn't one that I've ever heard of before.  If it is a completely original thought, kudos to all involved.  If it is just something that has only been rarely done that never crossed my path before, again - kudos.  This time for bringing out an idea that I think could use a bigger spotlight.

So, what is the gimmick you ask?  Well for starters, the two bands on this 7", Hooper and Spells, cover a song originally done by the other band.  But Tim, you say, that's been done approximately one hundred thousand times in the past.  Ah yes, but let's talk about the second contribution for each band.  Spells wrote a brand new, never before recorded song.  And they wrote it specifically to be played by Hooper.  Hooper returned the favor and wrote a brand new song for Spells.  So these aren't covers, they are brand new originals written for another band.  To me, this is a wild idea and am super into it.

The songs themselves are fun to listen to as well.  The Spells' take on the two Hooper written songs provide a blast of that usual Spells energy, but with songs that feel a little more straightforward and to the point than some of the more traditional Spells fare.  On the Hooper side or the equation (not their side of the record as each side has a song by each band) is my favorite song of the four, the Hooper version of "Forget About Virginia" from the Spells' Loose Change Vol.1 comp.  Also on board is a new song, "Salted Breeze."

I dig the concept a lot.  It helps that it is executed by two bands I already am a pretty big fan of.  As this is set up as Vol. 1, I assume that means more volumes are coming.  Let me give you the million dollar idea for Vol. 3 or 4.  The Drolls and Foxhall Stacks.  You're welcome.

Spells / Hooper - Rock N Roll Swap Meet: Day 1 Spilt 7":
https://snappylittlenumbers.bandcamp.com/album/rock-n-roll-swap-meet-day-1

Hooper - No Monument LP

Snappy Little Number (2018)

No Monument is the long awaited follow up to Hooper's 2013 masterpiece, How To Become A Ghost.   Five years is a long wait between albums and it's pretty obvious that the band has emerged from this break somewhat different than how they went into it.  Where How To Become A Ghost reveled in the 90s pop stylings of bands like Fig Dish and Tugboat Annie, No Monument takes a different path for most of the album.

No Monument is more indebted to different sounds of the 90s this time out, with a very post punk sound that expands the band's songwriting chops, but dampens the hooks a bit.  The opening one-two punch of "Red Shift (and the Irish Goodbye)" and "The Method" is a pretty good indication that things have changed since the last time we were hanging with Mr. Hooper.  Slower paced, with shifting rhythms and pained vocals, these two songs definitely grabbed my attention and alerted me that Hooper has altered the plan.

It's not all doom and gloom however.  Even though the first two songs aren't exactly my favorites, from the third track on, this is still a pretty excellent Hooper album.  "Unfinished Basements" and "Tides" are more in line with what I was expecting from Hooper, crunchy guitars, energetic song building and hooks that payoff that build.  When these guys are on, they are on.  Other highlights include the pop nugget "Spit Down A Well" and the more expansive, but no less catchy "Redacted."  Any song where the band plays things more straightforward and the tempo is a bit faster tend to be the ones that get my attention.

No Monument is still a strong, solid record.  There are moments that I don't like as much as others, but Hooper is still a band worth paying attention to and checking out if you're not already familiar with them.  Also, I apologize for that obviously terrible hanging with Mr. Hooper joke earlier in the review.

Hooper - No Monument:

https://snappylittlenumbers.bandcamp.com/album/no-monument

Hooper / Spells - Split Cassingle

Snappy Little Numbers (2016)

Credit again to Snappy Little Fingers, both for bringing back the wacky cassingle artwork of my youth and for sending over a copy of this tape to review.  I was pretty excited to pop this guy in when I opened it up.  After all, I'm a pretty huge Hooper fan and I've enjoys some of Spells prior work as well.

As far as the Hooper side goes, I have to admit I'm a little disappointed.  They start off with a cover of Marissa Nadler's "Diamond Heart."  It's alright, but is really lacking the energy and hooks that have made Hooper one of my favorites.  But again, it's a cover, so you can only do so much.  I had much higher hopes for the second song on their side of the split, "My Friend The Beast."  Best I can tell, this isn't a cover song, but it really doesn't sound much like the Hooper I've come to know and love.  The tempo is slow and deliberate and aside from a few high spots towards the end, the song just feels kind of thin.  Not at all what I was expecting from these guys.

For their side, Spells sticks to the tried and true.  "Starch Ideas" is the best kind of upbeat chord progression pop.  Through in a nice hooky chorus and some nice backing vocals and you've got a really solid song.  For their second song, they provide "A Failure's Wake."  The title makes me wonder.  Do they mean a wake for a failure, like the failure died or do them mean the wake of a failure, like the wake that a boat causes.  Either option provides some interesting thoughts.  Like "Starch Ideas," this is another bouncy, catchy song.  I really didn't expect the Spells side of this tape to be the one that I liked the most, but there you have it.

This is an interesting little split.  I'm especially curious to see where Hooper goes next.  Is this a new direction or just an anomaly?

Hooper / Spells - Split Cassingle:

https://snappylittlenumbers.bandcamp.com/album/split-cassingle

The Absolute Best Records Of 2013

The Absolute Best Records Of 2013, a photo by Tim PopKid on Flickr.

I cannot even remember the last time there was a year in music as good as 2013. You'd probably have to go back to the 90's to find a year that had so many truly fantastic records come out. From the second January started right up until the waning days of December, I feel that all I did this year was listen to great music.

The top 5 records this year were so strong, it really could have been a coin toss to select who got number 1. In the end I gave it to the Night Marchers. As I've been listening to John Reis bands for over 20 years now, it just feels the most like home if that makes any sense.

However, I want to make a special case for some records on this list that really deserve a little extra attention as the bands aren't quite as well known as some of their peers. The Dead Mechanical record could have been a number 1 record in almost any other year. It's just flawless and I really encourage people to check it out if they haven't heard it. Chestnut Road brought me back to my favorite scene of the 90's and they felt like the second coming of Broccoli, Hooton 3 Car or Leatherface, If you like fast guitar pop like The Marked Men, you're a fool if you don't give the Tight Bros record a listen. And finally, that Hooper record I reviewed a few days ago is just incredible. It may have ended up higher on this list had it come out a bit earlier so I could have spent even more time with it.

All of the records on this list are amazing in my humble opinion. I couldn't have asked for a better year in music. Sure, I spent an awful lot of money on records this year (I tracked all of my purchases in 2013, my advice is don't do that, it's depressing), but it was worth it. It's crazy that there's even more records from this year I wasn't able to pick up.  I'd like to grab the new Young Leaves record and I'm pretty sure I would like that Sweatshop Boys LP, but as you may have noticed, as it is I buy way to many records. Maybe next year.

Thanks again to everyone who reads this website and an extra special thanks to the folks that have emailed, tweeted to me or sent me records to review. Here's to more good rocking in 2014.

01 - The Night Marchers - Allez Allez - Swami
02 - Dead Mechanical - OK Night - Toxic Pop
03 - Radioactivity - Radioactivity - Dirtnap
04 - The Steve Adamyk Band - Third - Dirtnap
05 - Chestnut Road - Chestnut Road - Brassneck / Speedowax
06 - Warm Soda - Someone For You - Castle Face
07 - Tight Bros - Tight Bros - Rad Girlfriend
08 - The Blind Shake - Key To A False Door - Castle Face
09 - Obits - Bed & Bugs - Sub Pop
10 - Audacity - Butter Knife - Suicide Squeeze

11 - Mrs. Magician - B Sides - Thrill Me
12 - Hooper - How To Become A Ghost - Snappy Little Numbers
13 - Rumspringer - Stay Afloat - Dirtcult
14 - Dirtbombs - Ooey Gooey Chewy Ka-Blooey - In The Red
15 - Superchunk - I Hate Music - Merge
16 - Boat - Pretend To Be Brave - Magic Marker
17 - Low Culture - Screens - Dirtnap
18 - Plow United - Marching Band - Jump Start
19 - Sundowners - The Larger Half Of Wisdom - Dirtcult
20 - Crusaders - Perhaps You Deliver This Judgment... - No Idea

21 - Iron Chic - The Constant One - Bridge Nine
22 - Humanoids - Humanoids - Throwing Things
23 - Murmurs - Fly With The Unkindness - Dead Broke / Drunken Sailor
24 - The Resonars - Crummy Desert Sound - Burger
25 - Deltron 3030 - Event II - Bulk
26 - The Thermals - Desperate Ground - Saddle Creek
27 - RVIVR - The Beauty Between - Rumbletowne
28 - Shy Mirrors - Negative Collector - Big School
29 - Off With Their Heads - Home - Epitaph
30 - Wrong Words - Everything Is Free - Trouble In Mind

Other records I bought & enjoyed this year:
A Giant Dog - Bone - Tic Tac Totally
Autistic Youth - Nonage - Dirtnap
Bad Sports - Bra - Dirtnap
The Dagger Eyes - The Dagger Eyes - Ptrash
Dumpster Babies - Dumpster Babies - Tall Pat
Heavy Times - Fix It Alone - HoZac
Leatherface - More Mush - Bootleg
The Men - New Moon - Sacred Bones
Mind Spiders - Inhumanistic - Dirtnap
Paper Dragons - Die To Please - Toxic Pop
Southport - Southern Soul - Yo Yo
Space Wolves - IV - UT
Terry Malts - Nobody Realizes This Is Nowhere - Slumberland
The Visitors - Yeti - It's Alive
Wavves - Afraid Of Heights - Mom + Pop
Your Pest Band - In My Doom - Snuffy Smiles
Yuck - Glow & Behold - Fat Possum
Zebrassieres - I Am Human - Ptrash

Previously:
2012
2011
2010
2009

Hooper - How To Become A Ghost LP

Hooper - How To Become A Ghost LP, a photo by Tim PopKid on Flickr.

Snappy Little Numbers (2013)

My favorite thing about doing this website is the thought that somewhere there is someone buying a record by a band they hadn't heard of previously because I said it was good. I just love listening to new music and sharing it with people. I don't always think that I write well enough to really articulate how good a record is to someone that hasn't already heard it, but I do my best to convey the feelings I have about the record. Allow me to convey; this Hooper record is flat out great.

I had picked up a 7" by them on a lark a while back. Padding out a distro order to qualify for free shipping. It was a good 7" and I have been waiting to hear more from them. They delivered and then some with their debut full length. How To Become A Ghost is steeped in the 90's, rolling together influences of some of my favorite sounds of that era.

Musically you get the guitar work and song structure of a Tugboat Annie, but with a much crunchier sound reminding me of maybe a less polished Fig Dish. Vocally, I'm very much reminded of poppier punk bands like Zoinks!, but with a ton more emphasis on backing vocals and harmonies. This doesn't sound like a throwback to the 90's, it sounds like it could be one of the better records that was actually released in that decade. Don't take that as if I'm saying this record sounds dated, as I still think that there are 20 year old records that sound as fresh and exciting as the first time I listened to them.

I'm just extremely impressed by Hooper, a band that probably doesn't have the noteriety of a lot of the bands I tend to write about, but a band that really deserves to have a few more people check them out. I do wish the whole album was streaming somewhere as I don't feel the one song the band has up on their site really conveys just how great the record is as a whole. But it's still a snappy little number. Go check it out.

***Update - The whole album is available to stream, go listen!***

Hooper - How To Become A Ghost:
http://snappylittlenumbers.bandcamp.com/album/how-to-become-a-ghost

Hooper - The Shallows 7" - Purple Vinyl

Hooper - The Shallows 7" - Purple Vinyl, a photo by Tim PopKid on Flickr.

Hot little 2 song single by a band called Hooper. It appears to be their debut, and I hope it's the first of many releases to come. Hooper show a hybrid of 90s influences, and that's a surefire way to get me to pay attention these days. They've got hooky choruses with big 90s indie rock bass lines and they keep up a tempo and energy similar to the band Sundials. I absolutely love how 1990s indie rock has become a viable genre again. Perhaps that makes me old and out of touch, but that doesn't bother me at all.

Hooper - 100 Acre Slingshot (via Bandcamp):