DEMO REVIEW: Snotrocket

   Snotrocket is a band from Connecticut that was listed in some capacity in the recent KYEO Speaks #8 zine. Recently I've been making lists of all the music listed in zines I read and then just chipping away at it in between other stuff using a convoluted algorithm to determine which list I will use. When I described the entire process to my brother the other day he looked at me with sadness in his eyes because yet another level of my inner lunacy had been revealed.
   Anyway, from the name of the band I had assumed Snotrocket would be a Guttermouth/Vandals-type joke-punk band, but the band actually plays mid-paced melodic punk that reminds me strongly of Jawbreaker or a less strained Hot Water Music. It's a decent listen, very well recorded especially for a demo, but doesn't do a whole lot to differentiate itself from a lot of other bands coming out during this so-called "emo revival." The last 3 songs were a bit stronger than the first 3 but its not like the openers sucked or anything.
   "I Don't Know Why" was probably my favorite in terms of the melody, and lyrically "Tell Me When You're Gone" is definitely the best if just for the wrenching disconnect they convey. Its presented as though the singer were telling someone he didn't want to actually see that they can stay at his apartment because they have nowhere else to go for the night; the fact that he is helping them out, however, doesn't mean that he actually wants to be around them. "Just do whatever. I don't really care" /  "You can sleep on the couch or in the bed. I don't know when I'll be back home. I didn't want you to come but you said you had nowhere else to go." The title of the song says the rest.
   There are female vocals occasionally, including the closing song "On Our Own," which seems to be expressing both a tenacious self-reliance as well as a sense of singular, resigned lonliness.
   For fans of earnest punk that straddles the line of (non-wacky) pop punk on one end and 90s emo on the other, Snotrocket is a solid band I'd suggest checking out. It's just unfortunate about the name...

http://snotrocket.bandcamp.com/