Photo credit: Brian Kaiser

New Take This to Heart Records signing Snarls have just released new album ‘Burst’ and it’s one that is sure to delight fans of mathy art pop in the vein of Hop Along or Dutch Uncles. The Columbus, Ohio four-piece describes the band’s sound as ‘glitter emo alt rock’ and if that doesn’t sell them, nothing will…

‘Burst’ opens with ‘Walk in the Woods’, a character-led piece about moving on from the end of a relationship with self-depreciating lyrics (‘Why do I even open my mouth? It’s a spell I’ve got to break now’) and Primitives-style guitar work. The killer bass line and fuzz pop of ‘Marbles’ follows with the opening statement ‘I think I’ve lost my mind, I think I’ve lost my marbles, scattered all over the floor’ and observations of not showering but wearing your favourite clothes and comparing your life to others: ‘I feel so small standing next to you’. The genteel Teenage Fanclub-meets-Rilo Kiley indie pop of ‘Twenty’ is next up with talk of being a ‘fucking freak’ and how ‘twenty seems harder than it ought to be’.

‘What’s It Take’ is more jangly and has a more assertive tone in the lyrics: ‘I can’t get over you. It’s hard to move on ’cause you’re still around’; ‘I just want out’. ‘Hair’ features fuzzed-up bass and impassioned vocals as the band look back on the entitled treatment they’ve found themselves on the end of: ‘How’s it supposed to feel when you yell from the top of the stairs ‘hey, girl, stop messing with your hair’. ‘Better Off’ veers into Life Without Buildings territory with swirling guitars and deeply personal lyrics, while ‘Concrete’ is altogether more grungey with marching drums.

‘All of Thsi Will End’ is slower and more reflective as the band attempt to get to grips with a painful situation: ‘I’m no one and you’re the sun shining bright for fucking everyone’, ‘forget me, leave me be, forget I ever said anything’. The penultimate ‘Falling’ has dream pop vibes from the very first note with harmonies and another assertive tone as Snarls start to look ahead: ‘I won’t let you in again’. The record closes with the title track and this song has elements of shoegaze and psychedelia as the band ask what happens after death before asking ‘will you say goodbye?’ amidst a buzz of feedback.

This is an album you’ll be glad ‘burst’ into your life…