Snapdraggin sculpt invigorating music that is energetic and possesses the ever present sound akin to their native Sacramento surroundings. Their sound contains an emocore edge in the vein of Far and Simon Says, but rather than be copycats like so many before them, the group is much more agitated and upbeat as they pulse with inspiring rhythms that are hooky and perfect for both fans of modern rock and radio play.

The vocals included here are a bit gruff and have a warm scratchy quality to them that sounds friendly, yet has enough bark to also convey anger when necessary. But even though there is for the most part an aggressive verbal standpoint exercised on this CD, they still manage brighten the music like a warm ray of sun. Heavy on melody and fresh with bubbly, alternative rock lyrical patterns, the vocals on this album are indeed enjoyable and suit the bands music exquisitely. Guitars are excitable and enlist a crisp, buzzing distortion to get their point across as they strum out fast paced chords and winding riffs that break off into free flowing grooves and the occasional squealing note. While, Bass wise the album toys with a modest amount of downtuning to forge a wide depth, that only seems to get lost in the shuffle as the basslines laid down are for the most part in synch with the guitar work and as such are usually only noticeable from their ambitiously cleaved notes. Drums steer the songs on a proper course with solid hits and a mildly loose snare tuning that is mixed in with a variety of tom rolls and a compacted focus that never sounds outlandish or misses a beat.

The groups creations are inherently catchy and have an almost 80's quality to them, though its not so much in their sound, but more of the way the songs are written with very crisp, inviting structures and pronounced part changes. Transitions are accomplished smoothly and the band incorporate a variety of ideas and even show off enough courage to cover Elton John's track "Rocket Man" which in these days for a band of heavier tastes is truly a feat worthy of mention, even though their version admittedly doesn't differ too much from the original. The confidence level overall is brimming and their musical strength shines because of it. There's a great chemistry and a strong bond of cohesiveness in place and perhaps their only bad quality could be the fact that a few of the songs tend to stick out a lot more than others in terms of quality and writing prowess. Snapdraggin. are by no means dragging their asses as this release shows off a wealth of talent and robust songwriting skills and even though the fact that this album is released on an independent label will hamper their chances at any widespread success, it will hopefully be enough to have this charming record slide its way underneath the nose of a major label who can appreciate their gift.
(4 / 5)