Snowden has been compared to
the Cure and
the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, but the indie rock outfit carves out their own swarthy sound on their Jade Tree debut,
Anti-Anti. Thankfully, the Atlanta-via-Athens quartet's thawing post-shoegazer/dream pop blend has absolutely nothing to do with
Interpol and the like, thus the album title says it all. Singer/songwriter Jordan Jeffares' droning vocals and
David Payne's reverb-driven guitars surround these 12 nervy melodies for a lush atmosphere of sonic hysteria. So what if it slightly echoes the classic sounds of '80s post-punk in the process? Producer/engineer
Erik Wofford adds polish to
Snowden's slippery moods so songs such as the moaning twitch of "Like Bullets" and the neurotic punctuality of "Counterfeit Rules" never lose their momentum. Slower cuts such as "My Murmuring Darling" and "Innocent Heathen" filter through a melancholic ebb and flow of Chandler Rentz's faint percussion and Corinne Lee's icy bass work. For those who enjoy the quieter moments of
Joy Division and
I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness' first album,
Snowden's wavering gloom should be a nice fit for your collection. ~ MacKenzie Wilson