The Snare (album) explained

The Snare
Type:studio
Artist:Looper
Cover:The Snare (album).jpg
Released:2002
Label:Mute[1]
Producer:Peacock Johnson
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The Snare is the third album by the Scottish band Looper, released in 2002.[2] [3] Frontman Stuart David adopted the persona of Peacock Johnson.[4]

Production

The album shares themes and characters with David's novel The Peacock Manifesto.[5] "This Evil Love" is about romantic obsession.[6] The music shifted from the dance styles of the first two albums to include downbeat and trip hop elements.

Critical reception

Pitchfork wrote: "Easy to dismiss, smirk at, or even hate on the fist listen, nine out of The Snares ten tracks are grind-and-pause, semi-sultry pairings of exotic keyboard settings and mid-tech beats that exploit their refrains and come weirdly close to the patterns of 'risqué' after-dinner radio pop circa 1999-present." Exclaim! determined that "as an isolated album it comes across as little more than sub-par art pop whose tunes are monotonous and whose lyrics are obtuse."[5] The Gazette considered it "a dark, brooding work which holds together well, but struggles to free itself from its own weight."

The Sunday Herald deemed the album "10 menacing murder ballads, all characterised by ... dulcimer, baritone sax burps and tinkly music-box noises, backed by a Casio-keyboard approximation of the stuttering beats of modern R&B."[7] The Northern Echo called it "a black masterpiece."[8] The Philadelphia Daily News labeled it "a mysterious soundtrack of the mind with R&B, hip-hop and spaghetti western inflections."[9]

AllMusic wrote that "Looper drops their bright playfulness for a sophisticated, darker counterpart which uses jazz, R&B, and trip-hop as its foundation."

Notes and References

  1. Caring for Looper . CMJ New Music Report . Jun 10, 2002 . 71 . 766 . 42.
  2. Web site: Looper Biography, Songs, & Albums. AllMusic. 2022-10-15. 2022-10-15. https://web.archive.org/web/20221015181559/https://www.allmusic.com/artist/looper-mn0000827771/biography. live.
  3. Web site: Looper: The Snare . The A.V. Club . 25 June 2002 . 15 October 2022 . 15 October 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221015181557/https://www.avclub.com/looper-the-snare-1798197628 . live .
  4. News: Shepherd . Fiona . New Releases . The Scotsman . 21 June 2002 . 14.
  5. Web site: Looper The Snare | Exclaim!. exclaim.ca. 2022-10-15. 2022-10-15. https://web.archive.org/web/20221015181558/https://exclaim.ca/music/article/looper-snare. live.
  6. News: Niesel . Jeff . Looper 'The Snare' . The San Diego Union-Tribune . June 13, 2002 . Entertainment . 22.
  7. News: Virtue . Graeme . Sax and violence . Sunday Herald . 26 May 2002 . 14.
  8. News: Lloyd . Chris . Simply the N-E best . The Northern Echo . 30 May 2002 . 4.
  9. News: Takiff . Jonathan . FUSED-OUT . Philadelphia Daily News . 18 June 2002 . Features . 33.