Snaex
Has Been Given
El Gran E Records
What has the experimental indie-folk group Snaex given us? Over the past decade, the answer is several excellent albums and singles pairing socially conscious lyrics with intriguing instrumentation. Their new release, Has Been Given, is an ode to what you find when you sit back and open yourself up to whatever comes your way.
The original duo of singer-guitarists Chriss Sutherland (Cerberus Shoal, Fire on Fire) and Chris Teret (Company) has expanded over the years to include former Cerberus drummer Tom Rogers and bassist Tyler Heydolph. Two winters ago, Heydolph created the loops that inspired the new album, the band’s first since 2020’s The Nameless and The Named.
Has Been Given is hypnotic. The listener gets lulled into each track and then the album as a whole, as each song is longer than the last until the final track, which is the shortest. The vocals, by Sutherland and Teret, often repeat lyrics in a way that sounds more like chanting mantras than singing lines. Each song has its own distinct sound. The opening track is reminiscent of Beck, Tom Waits and Jack White, while “The Rain” and “See A Woman” have a folkier, bluegrass style. The production — mixed by David Rogers-Berry and mastered by the band and Caleb Mulkerin (Cerberus, Big Blood) — is practically a fifth band member, full of unique sonic combinations like chimes with reversed guitar lines.
Has Been Given is decidedly lacking in pop hooks or strong melodies. It feels exploratory, and though it can feel heavy and serious at times, there’s also a playfulness afoot. For example, “Nada,” the penultimate track, starts with the paradoxical declaration, “This is the silence.” Or consider the title of the last track, “No Name No End.”
“When a record is finished, it’s not abnormal to think, ‘will this be the last one?’” Snaex wrote in the liner notes. “Who knows?” they continued. “Maybe there is no ‘last one,’ but rather the ‘only’ one.”
Snaex plays an album release show at Mayo Street Arts on Jan. 12.
