When you’re touting a collection of songs that cumulatively
don’t pass 19 minutes as a full length record, you better make those tracks
engaging and entertaining. Under her Sneaks moniker Eva Moolchan already
experimented with the shorter tracks on her major label debut record
‘Gymnastics’. That record didn’t even reach 14 minutes but was well received
and seen as a breath of fresh air. With 5 extra minutes; a lifetime in
Moolchan’s world; this record sees her breaching out on occasion and
experimenting with longer running times whilst still delivering sharp, unique
post-punk tracks.
Minimalism is Moolchan’s calling card for this record. Her
tracks have 3 distinct components, her voice, a bass guitar, and a drum
machine. It seems simple but the insatiable grooves Moolchan can conjure up
with just these 3 components through production wizardry and a feel for how to
write a good post-punk track, she consistently catches you off guard with how
complex and engaging her music is. Each component is used precisely to superb
effect. Moolchan’s vocal delivery transforms from a wispy like delivery on the
deceptively groovy ‘Not My Combination’ to almost complete nonchalance on the
toe-tapping ‘PBNJ’. This nonchalant feel is completely misleading and genius by
Moolchan, it paints a picture of her just coming into the studio and knocking
these tracks out in no time and her being a prodigious talent. It is clear
however that each track; and the record in general; is carefully constructed
for maximum desired effect with hours of painstaking effort being put in.
That craftsmanship is most evident on ‘Look Like That’, the
only track which manages to balloon to the more conventional 3 minute mark;
which feels like a 10 minute opus on this record; and when you listen to it
yourself you realise it’s far from conventional. The entire track is a repeated
rhythm with classic pronounced post-punk bass and metronomic drums. It is quite
literally the same thing over and over for 3 minutes musically but Moolchan’s
lyrics slither in and out to break the repetition. The lyrics are needed
otherwise you would be lulled into the hypnotic, brooding repetition of the
rhythm on this cut, they are perfectly pitched and keep the listener on a tight
leash, something Moolchan does effortlessly throughout the record.
This is a very short record and you know it. Tracks end
abruptly after certain verses and there’s even a track that is only 20 seconds
long that consists solely of shimmering drum hits. But when you have a musician
who knows exactly how to use that short time period, you never feel short
changed. You still get that full record feel, but in less than half the time of
most mainstream records, it’s sterling stuff from Moolchan. Sneaks is an
appropriate moniker for her because the Gang of Four style grooves and
perfectly poised structure of the tracks on this record sneak up on you and get
you moving before you even realise, and that’s no easy feat.