Snow Coats – ‘If it wasn’t me, I would’ve called it funny’ [Album Review]

Dutch indie pop quartet Snow Coats released their debut LP Take The Weight Off Your Shoulders in the summer of 2018 and followed up their initial national success with their Pool Girl EP shortly after signing to Alcopop! Records in 2020. Since then, the band incubated and dissected their upcoming catalogue for this sophomore album with producer Joe Reinhart (who has produced the likes of Beach Bunny, The Vaughns, and Modern Baseball, to name a few).

The result is late ’90s/early ’00s indie revival with a spritely energy. “If It Wasn’t Me” is dripping with ’00s angst, aided by a contemporary production that is full and brimming with energy. Part of the album’s success is lead songwriter Anouk van der Kemp’s ability to tell stories with a lyrical earnestness that is at once honest and endearing. Explaining the inspiration for the album, she states:

“The idea for the album title came after a night when I left a restaurant, and as I waved and said goodbye to the people who worked there, I did in fact not go through the exit door, but walked into the men’s bathroom. Very awkward for me, very awkward for the people who worked there, but if someone else would’ve told me this story, I would’ve laughed.”

Snow Coats

Despite the bitterness, the music focuses on the energy and sweetness that indie pop is capable of presenting. The quartet is at their best when exhibiting melodrama with an adolescent level of vigour. It’s a testament to the band as well that they’ve emerged from the lockdowns with a renewed sense of themselves and have a record to show for it that is already positioned as the next new indie pop thing to watch going forward.

If it wasn’t me, I would’ve called it funny Track Listing:

1. For A Moment
2. Anyway
3. Dinosaur
4. Ok Ok (Sue)
5. Chevy
6. Right Fit
7. Amber
8. Since We Met
9. Too Good
10. Marie

Run Time: 36:38
Release Date: September 9, 2022
Record Label: Alcopop! Records