Eaten By Snakes – Calming Pink LP (Fond Of Life Records)

Eaten By Snakes is an ear-appealing pop-punk duo originating from Bielefeld, Germany. The band comprises od Daniel Kestner and David Finke, who are also members of Modern Saints. Calming Pink is their brand new offering to the broader audience that follows the visual aesthetics of their debut extended play record. It took them a while to complete the entire album, but I must admit this particular material worth all the wait. The cover artwork unveils a meaningful illustration of a pool party, drawn in calmy green, red, orange, and yellow tones. The art resembles the album covers so characteristic for the late nineties alternative rock era.

Eaten By Snakes nurtures a delicate sound that can’t be defined by a particular genre. Sure, the group relies on mellow sounding foundations of pop-punk music, but there’s certainly more than meets the eye. Somewhere deep beneath thoughtfully structured guitar melodies, Eaten By Snakes are hiding almost slightly abrasive soft fuzzy layers of distortion, so characteristic for shoegaze scene. There’s a dominant presence of studio reverb that pervades the complete atmosphere with an echoic atmosphere, so this particular element justifies my statement about shoegaze aspects in their music. Eaten By Snakes also carries a dosage of unexplainable twisty surf-rock vibe that gives sort of cheerfulness to these compositions.

Last but not least, this interesting duo includes generous servings of classic power pop and alternative rock moments that are defining the rich sound of Eaten By Snakes. These melodies are levitating back and forth between eighties power pop sound and mid-nineties alternative music. The addition of synth-pop atmospheric backgrounds, appealing thematics, various other licks is undoubtfully leaning towards the eighties. However, the group somehow manages to bind these elements all together in a harmonious symphony, and their music defies categorization under on particular era. Calming Pink undoubtfully delivers soft power-pop sound accompanied by so many other accentuations along the way. Still, there’s a subtle cheerful pop-punk drive that keeps this material even more entertaining and listenable.

Calming Pink comes on pink and standard black vinyl records by Fond Of Life Records, but it also available in a bundle with a self-titled 12” EP at Eaten By Snakes Bandcamp page. The album is also available on all streaming services across the web, if you prefer digital music. Check this one out if you’re into thoughtfully arranged shoegazey pop-punk music.