Snooper
Worldwide 
(Third Man Records)
★★★★☆

WHILE not drastic, Snooper have approached their second album with a change of tack. Having thrown the kitchen sink at the listener with as many wild ideas as possible over a 22-minute runtime on Super Snooper (2023), Worldwide opts to flesh songs out into comparatively lengthy, mostly two-minute songs.

Although it was their earlier – decidedly silly – songwriting ethos that attracted praise, there’s a lot to like on this lively “egg-punk” offering. Ideas are given a bit longer to breathe; lightning-quick riffs (no changes there) are granted longevity. This can be seen best on tracks like Opt Out and Star 69, to name two in a haze of squealing bangers that scarcely leave time to catch your breath.

Standing high over this whirlwind is frontwoman Blair Tramel, whose abrupt vocals lend perfectly to the raucous instrumentation. Also in the creative chair is guitarist Cody Cummins, without whom the band could not maintain its sheer velocity with such ease.

A cover of The Beatles’ Come Together is interestingly included on the latter half of the album. One of the shorter tracks here, it fits – somewhat surprisingly – well into a punk setting. At the end of the album is Subdivision. Coming in at four minutes long, it is an uncharacteristically long cut with an eerie, driving jam that erupts dramatically.

It is undoubtedly the title track that embodies the energy of Worldwide. It combines an irresistibly bouncy bassline with driving, textbook punky drums to whip up a fever one might find in a mosh pit.

Indeed, it is the band’s live presence that has prompted many of their critical plaudits. All the same, they have managed to capture enough of this to fill their new record. Perhaps it was this infectious energy – or the band’s distinct imagery – that encouraged Jack White to sign them to Third Man Records in the first place. What’s more for punters is a display of band-made papier-mache puppets that grace Snooper’s live shows. What more could you want?