This writer had the privilege of listening to a new single this weekend from Snake Lips ahead of their July album release on Repeating Cloud. Snake Lips is a self-proclaimed indie punk band based in Portland, Maine, and fronted by creator Cody Mitchell. Mitchell is no beginner to the scene, with experience playing bass in a variety of Portland groups, most recently being the indie rock band VAUGHN.
Alongside Mitchell, Snake Lips features a rotating line-up of backing musicians: Pete Caradonna on drums, Kara Auclair on bass, and Sam Ellis on guitar. Thumbs Up is an energetic, guitar-led track with one of the most catchy chorus lines I’ve heard from this genre to date.
Some of the most notable lyrics in this under-3-minute song are right at the beginning: “Brake check / I’m driving in the wrong lane / Blacked out / Alcohol and cocaine / So cool / I’m calling you the wrong name / Too bad / I’m the only one in my way.” This song follows the story of someone who is quickly and dangerously reaching rock bottom while searching for some kind of release that they have yet to find.
The instrumentation of Thumbs Up is nothing short of incredibly fun and life-giving, while the lyrics tell that sadder tale of emptiness as you keep trying to fill a hole in yourself with the wrong things. These substances and subsequent actions inevitably alter the course of your life faster than the speed of light.
The cover art for this single is adorable and so ridiculously sick. Luckily, if you preorder the upcoming album “Cat Beach” on vinyl through their Bandcamp store, you can have a physical copy of one of the coolest album covers you’ll probably ever see. Massive props to the artist; I wish I could find their social media handle.
Stream the first single from their upcoming album “Cat Beach” now on all streaming platforms and show them some love on socials if the song blows you away like it did to me!
Written by Newt Fangs
