| Head-bobbers. Toe-tappers. And a whole lot of lovely seventies-inspired melodic pop. Such is the story of Snacks. |
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Snacks
United Nations of Snacks
(2005)
2006 is the Year of 1973. Or the new link to a decade of music that would have been so much better if disco hadn't progressed beyond "Rock the Boat". Maybe The Hughes Corporation should have incorporated.
But, for the first time on buhdge in 2006, I digress. What I mean to say is, 2006 is the year that melodic pop will topple over all other musical genres that derive their energy from knowing craftsmen who know how to craft great pop songs. As if 2005 wasn't also that year.
Well, the tradition continues with Snacks' tasty second album, United Nations of Snacks, a warm and fuzzy distillation of the softer side of seventies melodic pop that delights on every level. Soft and easy and with a whole lotta harmony and love, Kevin Wiggins, Brett Kull and John Richardson combine to deliver a dozen (plus one) smile inducers, each one bearing the mark of a craftsman's touch.
Songs like these don't just pop out of one's head, although if they did we'd all be Goffin and King. What the Snacks chefs have done is marry the seventies soft pop aesthetic to a slightly edgy percussion base, where edgy isn't anything stronger than a light breeze striking a leaf with a half-hearted gust. These aren't dance tunes, but they are head-bobbers and toe-tappers and they'll put a smile on your face, and they are very, very good.
My favorite here is "Chico and Sally," an inviting, catchy story song about friends that form an indelible bond and part ways as life takes them to different places. When the narrator chances to meet up with Chico and Sally after time passes, he finds that Chico's gone to Los Angeles and married Sally. "Chico and Sally, the coolest of all/Kissed in the summer, wed in the fall/You know that it's all right with me/ To all you non-believers and over-achievers/I tell you that it's true I wouldn't deceive ya/ It's all right with me," the narrator sings, a hint of disbelief tempering his feelings as he practically begs to believe his words and their meaning.
Also within these grooves, "Saturday" shines with some beautiful harmonies and a wonderful chorus. The sort-of ELO-ish opener, the piano-driven "Yesterdays Are Gone," bounces along with the story of a guy who decides to leave yesterday behind and look toward tomorrow. "Fade (The Sinister Shade)", with its rhythmic acoustic guitar nod to a certain song about a guy named Julio and a particular schoolyard, chronicles the lazy days of a someone with nary a hint of ambition, albeit a guy who realizes he's trapped in the no-man's land of still life...the sinister shade. (Wiggins spins a tantalizing tale and has a way with words; check out these from "Fade": "The monkeys are crawling up into the trees/Third eye transfixed on the messengers they see/Transcribing answers to all mysteries/Electric typewriters please." Pretty neat, huh?)
At the risk of sounding like a seventies survivor (well, I am, you know), here are my words, delivered with a bit of flourish and whole lot of truth: United Nations of Snacks is a modern, soft pop classic, and whether you use a word processor or an electric typewriter to compose that thought, you're hitting the nail on the head. Softly, of course. With a light breeze.
Alan Haber
January 8, 2006
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