Snooper announce their new album Worldwide out 3 October via Third Man Records, and release lead single ‘Worldwide’. Over the past few years Snooper, founded by guitarist Connor Cummins and vocalist/visual artist Blair Tramel, have blasted out of the Nashville DIY scene. The project evolved well beyond anything Tramel and Cummins had originally imagined and faster than they could track, resulting in disorientation as much as exhilaration. Worldwide extends directly from the festering punk the band first made their name on, but documents Snooper becoming bolder, catchier, and more confident.
Following the release of their 2023 debut Super Snõõper, the band, rounded out by bassist Happy Haugen, drummer Brad Barteau, and guitarist Conner Sullivan, maintained a sporadic-yet-frantic touring schedule, darting around Australia, North America, and Europe whenever they had a tiny window between day jobs. Fuelled by a hunger for fresh material and the random acquisition of a drum machine, Cummins and Tramel used whatever time they could find to write new songs. With Super Snõõper being a re-recorded collection of pre-existing material long since road-tested and fan-approved, the band views Worldwide as their true debut album.
The title track serves as a mission statement for the record, not just thematically, but also aesthetically, showcasing Snooper’s stylistic exploration with dance music. “Push pull/ Side to side/ This way/ That way/ Can’t decide/ Pressure! Pushing in/ Flattened me out from end to end”, Tramel sings. The song captures the dizzying headspace of the band’s rapid ascent. But though the band was feeling the pressure, the song is partially inspired by hydraulic press YouTube videos, all the challenges presented opportunity for transformation.
In February, Snooper spontaneously found themselves in Los Angeles recording with John Congleton (St. Vincent, Sharon Van Etten, Angel Olsen, Explosions in the Sky). Though Snooper had never previously considered working with a producer, Congleton was a fan and the band reflects on the process as being integral to their growth as artists. “The whole idea behind this record was experimentation and change”, Cummins says. Though no less furious or propulsive than Snooper’s more guitar-driven beginnings, Worldwide may surprise longtime fans. Given they began on a drum machine, Cummins’ initial compositions had a newfound focus on rhythm and repetition. Where Super Snõõper was intended as a pure representation of Snooper’s feral live show, Worldwide blends intensity with Tramel’s earworm melodic sensibility.
This autumn Snooper will support The Hives on their North American tour. A full list of dates is below.
Snooper Tour Dates
September
8 – Austin, TX @ Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater #
9 – Houston, TX @ House of Blues #
10 – Dallas, TX @ House of Blues #
12 – Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre #
13 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Union Event Center #
15 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox SoDo #
16 – Vancouver, BC @ The Commodore Ballroom #
17 – Portland, OR @ Revolution Hall #
19 – Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades #
20 – San Francisco, CA @ The Warfield #
22 – Del Mar, CA @ The Sound #
25 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Palladium #
28 – Memphis, TN @ Goner Fest
# = with The Hives
For more information on Snooper please check their instagram and website.