SNAPPER - Shotgun Blossom

LP / CD Avalanche Records 1990
CD reissue Flying Nun Records 1992



"Led by Clean and Chills alumnus Peter Gutteridge, Snapper roared out of the late 80s Flying Nun scene and dazzled with their dark, droning sound. Their dense, motorik sound owed as much to Suicide and Krautrock as The Velvet Underground, dominated by distorted organs that buzzed like angry hornets and a throbbing drum pulse".
(slumberlandrecords.com)

"The tag that Snapper often got in retrospect was that they were the Stereolab before Stereolab, though that only captures part of what made them and the Shotgun Blossom album such a great listen. Certainly in an uncanny way the group musically found the feedback/organ drone/motorik drive combination that Stereolab had as an early calling card (the fact that the second song is called Can is also a fairly clear tip of the hat to a past inspiration). The fact that the glammy stomp of What Are You Thinking predates Stereolab's Transona 5 by four years is even more striking in retrospect. (...) The tension between overdrive and restraint on many levels recurs throughout Shotgun Blossom after being established with a bang on the opening Pop Your Top. The soaring, meditative guitar lines cutting through the mayhem on Hot Sun is a prime example, as is the full-on space/motorik combination Emmanuelle. The swagger on songs like Telepod Fly suggests even older rock roots — the squeal/shout at the end of certain lines is a kick. When the band tries something different here and there, so established is the sonic template in general that the results are downright surprising, thus the sweet semi-Byrds jangle of Dead Pictures (immediately followed by Snapper and the Ocean, which blends that with the usual sound in a perfect combination)".
(Ned Raggett, All-Music Guide)

ENJOY


Snapper and the Ocean