San Francisco's Sneetches feature the classic pop songwriting talents of vocalist/guitarist Mike Levy and guitarist Matt Carges, plus the British-born rhythm section of Alejandro "Alec" Palao (bass, formerly of the Stingrays) and Daniel Swan (drums, formerly of the Cortinas).
Although the Sneetches wrote bright, sunny pop melodies, their lyrics were often introspective and downbeat. Eight demo tracks recorded as a duo (with Levy on bass & keyboards and Matt on guitar & drums) were released as Lights Out! With the Sneetches by the U.K. Kaleidoscope Sounds label in 1988. (It was later reissued with additional tracks on the collection 1985-1991.)
The Sneetches' official debut, Sometimes That's All We Have, was issued by Alias in 1989, and it was followed a year later by the darker, equally impressive Slow, Palao's first album with the band. The Sneetches resurfaced in 1994 on the SpinART label with the LP Blow Out the Sun; several collections appeared in the interim period -- 1991's 1985-1991 repackaged their debut with outtakes and 12" tracks, 1993's Think Again covered the band's singles for Bus Stop, and 1994's Obscure Years reprised Think Again plus seven more tracks. Those tracks were, in turn, released separately as Starfucker in 1995 on Bus Stop. The Sneetches also collaborated with ex-Flamin' Groovies guitarist/vocalist Chris Wilson in 1993 on Chris Wilson and the Sneetches. - Steve Huey, All Music Guide
Record Label
Various (Creation, Alias, Spin Art, Bus Stop,etc.)
Only For A Moment/54 Hours/Well...Alright 12" Kaleidoscope Sound Records (KS106) 1987
Lights Out! with The Sneetches mini-LP Kaleidoscope Sound Records (KSLP007) 1988
Sometimes That's All We Have LP/CD Alias Records (A-002) 1988 also Creation Records (CRELP043)
Slow LP/CD Alias Records (A-008) 1990
1985-1991 LP/CD Alias Records (A-016) 1991
Think Again mini-CD The Bus Stop Label (BUS1003) 1993 also Jelly Bean Sounds (Japan)(Mayu-001D)
Obscure Years CD Rev-ola Records (CREV031CD) 1994
Blow Out the Sun LP/CD spinART Records (SPART20) 1994
Starfucker mini-CD/10" The Bus Stop Label (BUS1006) 1995
Chris Wilson and the Sneetches (Marilyn) 1993
Mike Levy - Fireflies (Bus Stop/Parasol) 2000
San Francisco's Sneetches, guitarist Matt Carges, singer/guitarist Mike Levy, drummer Daniel Swan and, from Slow on, bassist Alejandro (Alec) Palao are one of the most tasteful, consistently tuneful pop bands on the American scene. Echoes of the Zombies, Left Banke and Easybeats (they've covered songs by all three) abound; simple, uncluttered arrangements let their like-minded originals' substantial charms shine through.
Demos made as a two-piece found their way to a UK label, which released the eight songs as Lights Out! With The Sneetches. The rudimentary recording quality only adds to the fresh, unpretentious appeal of beat numbers like "I Need Someone" and pretty, atmospheric tracks like "Lorelei."
Sometimes That's All We Have delivers what Lights Out! only promised. Behind the engaging, sunny choruses and bouncy lovescapes lies a healthy dose of Syd Barrett-sized neuroses. The album is bursting with brilliant production and arranging ideas: the piano and handclap break in the rocking "Nowhere at All," the worn-vinyl intro to "Another Shitty Day," pedal steel and finger-snapping on "Don't Turn Back," the almost campy ooh-la-la-la's of "In a Perfect Place." The songs by Levy and Carges float right into your subconscious, and the band displays its muscle when you least expect it. (The CD adds a Sneetched-out version of Fred Neil's "Everybody's Talkin"' from a 1990 flexi-disc.)
The addition of a second Englishman, ex-Stingrays bassist Alec Palao (dapper drummer Daniel Swan cut his teeth with the Cortinas), allowed Levy to move to guitar and gave the Sneetches a new forcefulness on the 1989 12-inch "Please Don't Break My Heart," which also includes a fired-up dash through the Monochrome Set's "He's Frank." The comparatively raw nature of that teaser, plus inspired live shows riddled with Buzzcocks or Wire raveups, hardly prepared fans for Slow, a sparse, yet somehow dreamier and darker vision of Sneetches-brand popedelia. "Heloise" and "Broke Up in My Hands" are among the bongo-driven favorites on this lovely and unusual no- fixed-decade release. The CD adds a spot-on cover of the Left Banke's gorgeous "She May Call You Up Tonight."
Besides reissuing the Sneetches' debut, the 1985- 1991 compilation ties up some loose ends by gathering three tracks from a 1989 12-inch (including a peppy reworking of the Monochrome Set's "He's Frank"), outtakes from Slow and Sometimes That's All We Have, four new songs and a version of the Raspberries' "I Wanna Be With You" recorded with vocal assistance by theShoes. Tying for top tune honors: a superb reading of the Easybeats' "Pretty Girl" and the gentle, flowing "Just Another Lonely One," which may be the best thing the Sneetches have ever recorded.
The Think Again mini-album collects several Bus Stop singles and is a tad harder-edged than the earlier stuff but no less melodically stimulating. "...And I'm Thinking" is a Revolver-ish prize, the piano- based "A Good Thing" is devastatingly beautiful and the cover of the Buffalo Springfield's "Flying on the Ground Is Wrong" nearly eclipses the original. Obscure Years collects the seven tracks that make up Think Again and adds seven more outstanding cuts, including an amazingly intense run-through of Vanda/Young's "Watch Me Burn," the Monkee-ish "This Time" and the languid "Come Along With Me," which contains the inspirational couplet "You think he's funny / But he's such a dummy." (Starfucker separates out the seven cuts not from Think Again.)
The all-new Blow Out the Sun is a good-as-ever distillation of the Sneetches' influences, meshed into a brilliantly conceived and fully realized record. "A Light on Above" and "What I Know," in particular, come off like long-lost Lennon/McCartney/Vanda/Young/Argent/Blunstone (whew!) collaborations yet still sound totally contemporary. Great!
A one-off collaboration with former Flamin' Groovies singer/guitarist Chris Wilson resulted in the seven-song Chris Wilson and the Sneetches: three Groovies tunes ("Between the Lines," "I'll Cry Alone" and "Slow Death") performed live at the DNA Lounge (Groovies alumnus Roy Loney joins in on "Slow Death"), full-band versions of cuts from Wilson's early '90s acoustic album, Random Centuries, and a nice, 12-string-drenched version of Goffin/King's "Goin' Back."
[Scott McCaughey/John M. Borack]
The Sneetches with Roy Loney and Cyril Jordan - Live '91. "Roadhouse."
I remember puying Lights out on vinyl from Joe Forster of Kalaidescope back in '87/'88? He sold it me for £3, after hearing it, it immediately went into omy then top 10 of all time. Its still up there. 54 Hours one of the greatest songs in my entire life.
It's one of those days. Nothing less than the Sneetches will do. What is Mike Levy up to these days? I want to do an all Sneetches show sometime soon, their legacy in song is just stunning.
Thanks for the add! I've loved your music since the first time I heard "Another Shitty Day" back in 1990 or 91 when my future husband put it on a courtin' tape...remember those? Making mixed tapes to impress the opposite sex? Awwwwww....
Thanks so much for your friendship and support. Phew! It's a long ride and don't you know it!
GOOD NEWS! we have finally finished the debut album. We would like to include a special edition Remix album called MIXNOMA with it and are holding a remix competition!
Please go to www.misnoma.com to listen to the tracks and choose one. We can then send you the track (2GB of about 24 tracks, slottable into any programme: Logic, Cubase, Protools etc). If you are not a producer then please pass this on to your producer friends!
Your old friend NAT has changed its name to No and the Maybes! Thanks for
adding us once again. On our new profile you can listen to a new tune called Can I Sleep With Your Friends?
All the best,
Mikkel, Anders and Troels,
No and the Maybes
I'm going to risk a superlative here...though the lads would modestly disagree, The Sneetches were quite possibly the best American (albeit half-Brit) pop band EVER. I still refer back to the albums for inspiration, & still wish that I had begged them to let me join when I might have had the chance, lo those many years ago.
Thanks so much for the add, y'all...consider yourself buzzed!
