Snailmate - Stress Sandwich
Phoenix-based synthpunk grindcore pop nerd rap duo Snailmate is flaunting their new album 'Stress Sandwich' by taking it on tour, continuing a solid tradition that has practically become a way of life for the duo.
Newly released via Toronto-based Indiestructable Records and serving up a twisted humorous take on existential anxiety, this album delivers funky, poppy, screamy fun through synth-laced alternative raps. Their music is like a quick-onset panic attack with the right meds to be able to keep calm and enjoy the ride.
Snailmate is lyricist-vocalist and synth wizard Kalen Lander and drummer-backup vocalist Bentley Monet, whose music fuses synthpunk, grindcore, pop and nerd rap for an unpredictable and explosive sound. Together they craft music that is cathartic and relatable yet unique and genre-defying, using humor and wit to tackle topics from isolation and queer identity to bangers about hot sauce and nostalgia.
Produced by Ari Leopold at Lava Lake Studio in Phoenix, 'Stress Sandwich' is about growth, exploring themes such as vulnerability, disappointment, and art-making as a beautiful yet imperfect process. They go head to head with depression, anxiety, imposter syndrome, anger, hunger, laziness... but also fun things! These 10 tracks - laced with sarcasm, breathless lyricism and unpredictable genre-bending energy - will leave you satisfied and wanting more.
"This album has been in the works for so long. It took years to process all these feelings and experiences and distill them into just ten short songs, but I’m really glad we didn’t try and finish this thing any sooner. It would have tasted so much different. The flavors needed time to develop. I couldn’t have written 'Toll Road' until that bastard stole our money. 'The Snailmate Show' wasn’t a thing before we were forced to quarantine and couldn’t play live. And until we had to go through some intense physical changes, 'My Weird Gross Body' just wouldn’t have been the same," says Kalen Lander.
"I beat myself up a lot during this whole process. I felt like I was taking too long to write the lyrics, and that meant that I was bad at writing. I had lost my touch. But then I really started to understand how, when I FINALLY finished the words for a song, it was perfect. It couldn’t have been perfect if I’d forced it out any sooner. And I think 'The Laziest Man in the World' encapsulates that sentiment better than anything."
The duo also presents their latest video for 'The Laziest Man in the World', created by Chase A Warren.
"This song is my attempt to glorify and glamorize my extreme lack of motivation. Even though the approach was to be as lazy as possible, the song nevertheless features dexterous lyricism and quick, intricate rhyme schemes. Sometimes, sitting around and doing nothing is important for your mental health. Hopefully this song can make someone feel a little better the next time they take a day off," says Kalen Lander.
"I’m a firm believer in slowing down and taking your time. Days off are as crucial, if not more so, than the days spent working. Sometimes you need to do absolutely nothing. You deserve it. And “The Laziest Man in the World” wants you to be the best you can be."
Known for their frenetic and impressive live shows (numbering over a thousand now), 2023 saw the band tour relentlessly. As part of the LGBTQ community and with Bentley being a transgender artist, Snailmate inspires their listeners to be unapologetic and unashamed of who they are, having cultivated a fervent fanbase based on inclusivity and shows as a safe space for all genders and people of all sexualities.
Snailmate earlier released two full length albums - 'Live In Japan' (2019) and 'Love in the Microwave' (2017) - and a myriad of EPs and singles.
'Stress Sandwich' is available digitally from fine music platforms, including Apple Music, Spotify and Bandcamp. It can also be ordered on vinyl and CD vinyl from the band's own store, where ample merch is also available, including their very own award-winning hot sauce!
