Single Feature + Gig Preview | Snailgun
On finding a unique approach to guitar sounds & band dynamics all in the name of fear
Noah chats to Adam and Dan from Snailgun to hear all about their latest single and upcoming launch at The Tote Upstairs on Friday Dec 19th.
Hi Adam, you have just released the single, It’s Called Fear into the world, which is a long hypnotic surf-punk banger. It’s the final single off your upcoming debut LP that will be coming out in early 2026. How has the response been like so far for the tracks you have dropped?
Adam: Pretty rad so far. Our last single - Shadow Operator - was selected for the Triple J Unearthed’s Tops show, which features their best new submissions. It was surreal to us because the program is 30 minutes long and our single is 8.5 minutes, so we took up almost a third of the program. It also got played on Triple J on their Late Nights program. We never saw ourselves as Triple J material, so it was such a shock to us - I personally had to see proof before I believed it.
You reference Dischord/Touch & Go bands along with late 70’s post-punk as being the bands main influence. Can you explain your love for the genre and further enlighten us on the bands that you associate with those labels?
Adam: When it comes to Dischord various members of the band are big fans of Fugazi, Rites of Spring, Q & Not U, Lungfish, and Circus Lupus. Re: Touch & Go, we’re big fans of Shellac, The Jesus Lizard, and Big Black. Late 70’s post punk, I’m thinking Gang of Four, Joy Division, The Birthday Party, etc.
There are probably a lot of other bands that aren’t even coming to mind. These are all really different from each other, but they took unique approaches to guitar sounds and the dynamics of the band. The guitar was often used to make cutting, abrasive sounds. I think we used that as our starting point.
Can you tell us about the process and making of your debut LP. You worked with Max Ducker (No Hoper) at Cellar Sessions in Coburg. Can you tell us about working with him and how he has complemented what you do?
Adam: Max is great to work with. He gets where we’re coming from as he shares a lot of our influences.
We used some of his gear, including a crazy guitar preamp called the IVP that Steve Albini uses in Shellac and is the secret sauce to his gnarly guitar tone.
The lyrics for It’s Called Fear explore themes Fear, Power and Escapism. Can you share about your inspiration for these words and ideas?
Adam: I wish I could tell you. I wrote the lyrics to that one, and I tend to start by listening to an instrumental demo and hearing for anything springs to mind. I kept hearing It’s Called Fear being yelled over the chorus. I wrote a few lyrics around that chorus that came to mind.
From the looks of it Snailgun kicked off somewhere in 2023. Can you give us a bit of a rundown on your musical history and how Snailgun got started?
Dan: Adam and I started playing music together in 2016 or 2017, but we didn’t have a drummer.
We would set up a drum machine and jam over that. It was difficult to take those jams and create something with structure so that sort of fizzled out.
Then with COVID, in lockdown, both of us had been writing songs separately without any real plans to do anything with them. In 2023, Adam suggested we give it another go, and we shared those isolation demos which formed some of our early jams. We still didn’t have a drummer, but I had become more adept with the drum machine and fleshed out full song structures for us to write to. We also played this one oddball 1970’s Larry Wallis (Pink Fairies) song called Police Car over and over in rehearsal. Maybe one day we’ll play that live!
After about 8 months, we had enough songs and played our first live shows as a two piece with a drum machine. In the meantime, I had met Sam just in passing, and he mentioned he was a drummer. And it turned out he was only in two other bands! (Shout out to Great Falls and Cold Open). Everything gelled really quickly, and we played our first gig as a three piece in May 2024 at Cafe Gummo.
You have a killer show coming up for your single launch at The Tote Upstairs on Friday December 19th with Winternationale and Milk After Sex. Do you have a special connection to the venue, and can you tell us all about the line up you have put together?
Adam: We’ve played the Tote a few times - a couple times in the front bar and once in the upstairs. It’s rad.
Dan: The Tote’s just a classic, iconic Melbourne venue. We had all been to many shows there so playing at the Tote is always a treat. Winternationale are a duo playing excellent experimental post-punk. We were meant to play with them a few months ago but it didn’t end up happening so we are really looking forward to seeing them live and sharing the stage. We played with Milk After Sex at a warehouse party earlier in the year, and they really impressed us with how cool their sound was. They have this laid-back Fall vibe with a sax, which I love. So yeah, going to be a killer gig.
Finally, who are your favourite local Melb/Naarm bands at the moment and who would you like to see interviewed for Tempo?
Adam: The scene in Melbourne is insane - there are almost too many good bands, which is a great problem to have. Here are a few that come to mind -
Waxman - they’re a noise rock/post hardcore band. They are insanely good live. We played one of our first shows as a trio with them and they really motivated us to be a better live band. When most people watch them, their jaws hit the floor.
No Hoper - Max Ducker’s band No Hoper are a really original punk/noise rock band featuring saxophone arrangements. Max also plays a six-string bass in this one. They have an LP that came out this year that’s really great.
Frons - they’re an incredibly tight post-punk band. Their songs are so interesting, because they’re dissonant but also strangely tuneful. Kinda reminiscent of Omni or This Heat, but even these comparisons feel like a disservice as they clearly have their own thing going.
Dan: I’ll add a few more to this list: Zipper, Gun Laws, Tench, Ze Wisenheimer…. we’ve played with most of these bands and that’s one of the perks of playing music in Melbourne.
“It’s Called Fear” Single Launch - Snailgun Featuring Winternationale & Milk After Sex Friday Dec 19th
Get your Tix here