The Snap Elect

Mangled Angled Land

Written by: PP on 14/01/2011 21:22:09

The Snap Elect are British newcomers who, according to their own words, play a genre they've dubbed as "powergum", apparently a combo of power pop and bubblegum pop from the 60s, though I'm struggling to hear the former at all in their sound. This is vintage 60s guitars all the way with distant garage rock vibes, resulting in a playful rock'n'roll sound that's not to be taken too seriously, at least if you are to judge by the overtly happy and summery mood throughout the music.

"Mangled Angled Land" is their debut album, so it's not surprising to find the band occasionally toying with various other genres to see what they are best at. Piano-pop continuously appears mid-song throughout the record, but there are also plenty of organs and psychedelic elements such as in the best track on the album, "Heed The Call", which has a chorus passage which I'd classify as soul given the vocal style. You can also draw parallels to bands like The Bees, The Kinks and so other 60s/70s acts who combined pop with rock'n'roll.

That's all well and good on paper, but in practice the only thing The Snap Elect have going for them is the vintage, nostalgic 60s vibe in their music. It's hard not to think about The Beatles having been a huge inspiration for these guys, but here's the thing. 60s music was cool in the 60s. In 2011, it sounds dated and irrelevant. Therefore, I suggest The Snap Elect find a way to modernize their sound AND keep the 60s influence in the mix somehow in order to impress, though this is a task much easier said than done.

5

Download: Heed The Call
For the fans of: The Bees, The Kinks, The Hollies, The National Rifle
Listen: Myspace

Release date 04.11.2010
Smashed Records

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