Candy Sniper - Low Art - CD (2003)

Labels: Running Riot Records
Review by: Andy Malcolm

Now this cd has been sitting in my reviews pile for ages and I really owe Mr. Jon an apology for

being so slack with the review. I promised it before Christmas, but failed miserably. So how about

1 day after Christmas? I meant Christmas 2004 anyway. I think.

Candy Sniper is an English band and I was really surprised when they sent me their demo earlier

this year because it was such an unexpected thing to hear – a band from England that had produced

an emo record done right! There probably hasn’t been an emo LP from these shores since Crescent!

And that is years ago. The Sniper indulge in a tightly wound and rocking brand of emo that kicks

out deft grooves and tight melodies. These, mixed with the great vocals certainly make me think of

Policy of 3, Drive Like Jehu or Shotmaker – especially on the mesmerising opener “Kill Melody”

where things flow out of the brilliant grooves into the pacey parts supremely well. All the songs

tend to be quite lengthy (5 minutes or so), and packed with a lot of intensity and complexity. One

of my favourite parts of the album is the breakdown on “Question 10” before it jumps back up and

gets totally emo with a prominent bassline leading proceedings. Great stuff.

A gripe though: this album is FIFTY MINUTES long. And for a first release, that is way too much,

because the songs get samey after about half an hour. I think they would have done better to filter

out a couple of songs and have made a 30 minute record, because that way things would definitely

stay in the memory more than they do at present. Which is a shame, because there are some really

good songs on here and it is a record that is well worth checking out. Ah well.

Anyway, good stuff despite the fact that it drags by the end. Good to hear a UK band doing

something that is neither boring nor a replica of what is the current trend with our American

friends. Hurrah!