Snailmate – Stress Sandwich

“Stress Sandwich” is a second full-length album by Snailmate, a Phoenix, Arizona-based duo. It’s a perfect continuation of “Love In The Microwave,” their debut album released in 2017. Still, “Stress Sandwich” also carries many innovations in songwriting, composing, recording, and producing. Snailmate thoroughly planned every move on their latest release, and “The Laziest Man In The World” and “My Weird Gross Body” were perfect examples of their ability to combine so many music genres into a fine piece of sonic artistry. Still, these two introductory singles are tiny sneak peeks into a comprehensive amalgam of cleverly assembled compositions. Tracks like “Trash, Baby,” “It’s Coming Back,” “Shoulda Brought Snacks,” “I Know What You Want,” “Toll Road,” and “Donuts In The Road” are also perfect examples of their creative brilliance.

You’ll have many difficulties pinpointing their sound to a singular music genre. Perhaps nu-metal comes to mind first, but these folks undoubtedly fully stacked their tracks with many sonic ingredients borrowed from other complementary music genres. You’ll notice elements of hip-hop, alternative, screamo, and post-hardcore lurking around in the mix, but don’t be surprised if you hear some other elements along the way. These experimentations with different styles resulted in an eclectic collection that will appeal to anyone who’s looking for some fresh ideas and exceptional musicianship. Also, it’s good to mention that Snailmate used these additional elements as more than necessary enhancements, accentuations, decorations, and other details that uplift these songs on an entirely new level, while nu metal remains as a primary sonic direction.

As soon as you press play, you’ll notice how their storytelling lyricism and vocal performance are the centerpiece of each composition. While the lyricism and vocals come first, that doesn’t mean Snailmate haven’t thought about music. Quite the contrary, their sound is rich and luxurious, with each track carrying many mind-blowing ideas and superb musicianship. The cleverly assembled synth leads, themes, melodies, harmonies, ambiances, and basslines play significant roles in each song. You’ll hear how fuzz works to their advantage during the particular segments, and this additional layer of distortion perfectly matches the heavily distorted midi guitars. Of course, these songs wouldn’t sound so energetic without flawlessly programmed rhythmic sequences based upon perfectly arranged beats, breaks, fills, and other percussive acrobatics. Snailmate thought about everything while writing, composing, arranging, and producing their second full-length, and you’ll unquestionably hear it from scratch to finish.

What makes this album particularly interesting is how they revitalized nu-metal as a genre. Perhaps “Stress Sandwich” carries all the crucial elements of the genre, but Snailmate took a different approach to songwriting by implementing synths and midi guitars instead of analog instruments. This fresh take on the genre is just what nu-metal needed, and there are no doubts that die-hard fans and newbies will love these experimentations. You should put “Stress Sandwich” on your radar as soon as possible, because Snailmate know what they’re doing, and they’re doing it pretty damn good. The album is available on all streaming services.