Matt Putman ('standing' percussionist for Living Sacrifice) and Matt Depper are Snailhuntr, and they have a 10-track, self-titled CD out on the indie upstart Record Collection label (the people bringing us LS and Figure Four on vinyl). Putman is quick to point out to the curious that Snailhuntr is not metal. The band / project / whatever is in fact an ambitious "art-rock" venture, and takes the listener through the poetry of W. Clayton Scott — from "Dooly's Little Pocket of Sprouts (A Selection of Organic Poems)" — to the tune of industrialized synth, flamenco-ish guitar, congos, digi-pop, dub, jazz guitar, classic rock riffs, and a number of other instruments, media, and noise. The interesting thing, and the factor that makes one play it again, is that all of this experimental stuff is actually worked into strong, catchy melodies that could pass as popular rock in a less-mundane world.
Variety is a key to the success of Snailhuntr thus far. Not just in their instruments, but also in song selection. Every track stands as its own unique entity. A brooding NIN number will precede a Latin ditty. A haunting mystical will follow a dcTalk hopper, and then bleed into a Half-Handed Cloud / Steve Scott beat-poet-combo of sorts. And somehow the story stays true to its plot.
Snailhuntr is definitely not for pabulum eaters. Or maybe it is. At some point we should all explore new foods, new cultures, new ideas, new paradigms, new art, and whatnot. It's got something to do with milk and meat and pearls and swine and sugar and protein and all those things that balance each other in the grand symbiotic contradiction of our existence. But whatever. The point is that this disc has substance and style. Yay.
