Songs For Snakes - Airspeed Is Everything 7"

Timid Crusher (2020)

It's been two years sing we last heard from Songs For Snakes and their Crystal Vapour Figure LP.  They're back with a two song 7" and it's as potent and excellent as anything else the band has released.  While it may be impossible to listen to Songs For Snakes without conjuring images of Jawbreaker or Playground in your head, they consistently crank out catchy and powerful working class punk tunes.

A side "Airspeed Is Everything" is one of the longer songs in the Songs For Snakes arsenal, and while some of that is due to a lengthy intro there's never a wasted moment once the meat of the song kicks in.  The Bivouac-ian verse pushes the song forward into a brief, but dynamic chorus where the guitars soar.  Also, I should point out that the bass really stands out on this song as being the glue that holds everything together.  It's a great song.

On the B side we have "Let Them Eat Hate."  This one starts off with the tried and true muddled movie quote (I assume it's from a movie or something like that) over guitar feedback until the song kicks off in earnest.  As good as "Airspeed Is Everything" is, this is actually my favorite of the two songs on this 7".  The guitar work is outstanding, creating interesting textures without crossing the line into guitar solo wankery.  It's a concise, straightforward punk song, but has that extra little something that makes it stand out from the pack.

It's another excellent release from Songs For Snakes and it just makes me repeat something I say nearly every time I write about one of their records.  I don't understand how they aren't a bit more well known than they are.  Especially with old punks like me.  If you're reading this, you should fix that and pick up some or all of their records.

Songs For Snakes - Airspeed Is Everything 7":
https://songsforsnakes.bandcamp.com/album/airspeed-is-everything

Songs For Snakes - Crystal Vapour Figure LP

Timid Crusher (2018)

Crystal Vapour Figure is the third full length album I've reviewed by Songs For Snakes.  Every time I listen to them, I can't help but wonder why they aren't a bit more well known that they seem to be.  This is a band playing the kind of killer, working class, melodic punk rock that you'd think would really resonate with a certain section of older punks, namely the ones that worship at the alters of Jawbreaker and Leatherface.

Now, that's not to say that Songs for Snakes are a carbon copy of either of those bands.  If anything, Jawbreaker and Leatherface are touchstones and influences on the sound of Songs For Snakes.  The Snakes take things their own direction, really owning the melodic side of the punk rock section.  They build their guitar riffs creating music that shows energy, while keeping the vocals somewhat vulnerable, yet still teeming with bitterness and rage.  It's a unique balancing act and one of the things that really sets Songs For Snakes apart from the sort of thing you'd hear on No Idea.

Frankly, Songs For Snakes are probably one of the more under appreciated bands out there.  Every record they've put out is great and they seem to get better every time they release a new one.  Crystal Vapour Figure is their best so far and is really worth checking out if you're not familiar with the band.  I want them to sell enough records to keep putting out new ones for a long, long time.

Songs For Snakes - Crystal Vapour Figure:

https://songsforsnakes.bandcamp.com/album/crystal-vapour-figure

Songs For Snakes / If It Kills You - Split 7" - Honey Mustard Vinyl

Self Released (2017)

Yep, they are calling it 'honey mustard vinyl.'  That's great and it actually looks like that color, so even better.  This split 7" features a band I've become quite familiar with over the years coupled with a band I'd not heard of previously.

This is the third time I've written about Songs For Snakes and their melodic punk by old punks for old punks.  Combine the aggressiveness of Bivouac era Jawbreaker with huge guitar tones that remind me a lot of Fig Dish and mix that potent cocktail with gravely vocals.  If that sounds like exactly the sort of thing you'd expect me to listen to, you're correct.  Very much my cup of tea.  They also have a new full length out, so I'll be writing up that soon as well.

On the flip side is If It Kills you.  I haven't listened to them before playing their song on this 7", and while I can't say I like them as much as Songs For Snakes, it sure compliments them with their own very 90s sounding song.  If It Kills You, to me, is harkening back to a slightly noisier strain of 90s punk rock.  A little bit of the more chaotic moments of Seaweed mixed in with some of the poppier aspects of the AmRep catalog.  The vocals have that static-y telephone effect on them, kind of how Rocket From The Crypt used it in "The Paste That You Love," though not quite as blown out as Rocket.

I say all the time how the split 7" is one of my favorite ways to listen to music.  There's something kind of timeless about the experience to me and I wish they were more common today than they are.

Songs For Snakes / If It Kills You - Split 7":

https://songsforsnakes.bandcamp.com/album/songs-for-snakes-if-it-kills-you-7

Songs For Snakes - Year Of The Snake LP - White w/ Blue Splatter Vinyl (/300)

Self Released (2014)

Before I say anything about the music, would you look at this record? It's beautiful.  I can't remember the last time a band or label got their colored vinyl to so perfectly match the artwork like this.  It's stunning.  Kudos to the band for taking the step to put out their new record on vinyl.  Equally stunning is the music on this album, it's like the band is making music just for me.

While trying to make it not sound like an insult, to me Songs For Snakes  is old man punk.  I complain often how I'm getting older and the things that I liked when I was younger (which coincidentally tend to be the things I like now too) tend to be out of style or not in vogue.  Music was especially like that for a while.  Over the past few years there has been a real renaissance of bands that take their cues from 90's bands and the result has been a lot more music that I'm interested in.  Songs For Snakes are right at the top of the pile as far as these bands go; they're just one of the best.

You can tell that the guys in Songs For Snakes are older punks too.  These aren't some kids playing an old style of music, these are old punks that are just playing the kind of music that's authentic to them.  You can't listen to this record and not hear the Jawbreaker influence.  But while most bands who like Jawbreaker spin off into a weird emo tribute, Songs For Snakes keep it louder, rougher and much more in common with Unfun era Jawbreaker, but still manage to pack ultra catchy hooks into every song.

The production is great, the songs are phenomenal and frankly I'm shocked that this band isn't way more famous than they are.  They also emailed me personally just to let me know they had a new record that came out so I could go buy it.  See? They know that I'm getting old and forgetful.  In a world full of wacky technology and stupid kids, sometimes it's just nice to be old, cranky and happy about it.

Songs For Snakes - Year Of The Snake:

http://songsforsnakes.bandcamp.com/album/year-of-the-snake

Songs For Snakes - Charcoal Heather CD

Songs For Snakes - Charcoal Heather CD, a photo by Tim PopKid on Flickr.

Timid Crusher (2012)

Though mentioned a few times in the past on this website, I should give a proper plug to the Wilfully Obscure blog (wilfullyobscure.blogspot.com/). In addition to digging up past relics, they do occasionally feature a new band and while I certainly don't like everything that's posted, I have been introduced to a few great bands from this site. The most recent of these discoveries is Songs For Snakes. I know it probably goes without saying that I would prefer this had come out on vinyl, but at least it's not cassette only.

Charcoal Heather is a CD full of what I'm going to call Old Guy Punk. This is not to be derisive in anyway, in fact it's one of the highest compliments I can pay a band these days, being an old guy myself. This is a band that conjures memories of a prime Jawbreaker or a more streamlined Leatherface. Melodic raspy vocals with powerful guitars and the kind of hooks you just don't hear from the kids anymore. It's a self released album, the band has no delusions of grandeur and you can tell they're making music because they love music, not because they think they're the next big thing. You can buy the album direct from the band via their bandcamp page on the cheap. Heck, the singer Bill put this in the mail for me before I even sent him the money for it via PayPal.  I wouldn't recommend he do that for everyone, there are some bad people on the internet...

Songs For Snakes - Charcoal Heather:
songsforsnakes.bandcamp.com/album/charcoal-heather