Art In Flux: Snowball ii – “Anais & Me”
Snowball ii
“Anais & Me”
Flashes Of Quincy
L.A.’s Snowball ii have done it again. The shoegazer/noise/indie rock group has come up with another surprise. Just as on the first two Snowball ii albums, band leader/producer Jackson Wargo took on nearly all instrumental responsibilities on these recordings; although, the album’s first single offers a very rare and special guest appearance by Kurt Heasley—founder and frontman of influential ‘90s shoegaze band Lilys. This album could have been released in 1996 with Nick Cave’s “Murder Ballads” or Sebadoh’s “Harmony, but Snowball ii has a sound all its own. This is not a retread; this is a revitalization of a sound that needs to be revived right now. Snowball ii is an amazing collective. In their short existence, they have released a feedback-drenched album, a dream pop album, and now this, maybe their best work ever. Listen to their whole album, buy it damn it, and jump on board. Oh, and the title of the songs tickles me somehow. Now I’ll have dream about Anais Nin.
