Sneaks - It's a Myth

Drowned In Sound 90

As Sneaks, Moolchan achieved alone on her debut Gymnastics what hundreds of bands do not – a new logic. She made Pylon look old (or, at the very least, their fans), ESG crass, and Gang of Four static. It’s A Myth picks up exactly where that sensation left off, with barely 20 minutes of grooves and Dadaist word play to match Gymnastics’ hypnotic pull. Novelty isn’t the word for what hasn’t faded – what still pervades Sneaks is the rhythm of words, assembled for the sake of rhythm’s sake. “Plastic dinosaurs and hot dog buns / strawberry strategically placed – woop! ”. If I could reproduce that line with half the cool that Moolchan breathes into it, I’d have 50 boyfriends by now.

You could say Sneaks is in a locked groove, for not too much has changed since Gymnastics. More synthesisers broaden the pallet, but the attention to dictation remains the same. Still, check 'Not My Combination', where the shifty factory of beats complements Moolchan’s wary whispered refrain of “tic tac toe, three in a row / not my combination” She’s always been a ninja poet, but this is, like, laser-dodging, bank-breaking levels of stealth. And then there’s 'With A Cherry on Top', a space-pad-suave theme ideal for, say, a grown-up club where everyone stares at a boulder on stage and pretends to philosophise the entire time, while you’re trying to find the lady that sells hallucinogenic street food. That is to say – Moolchan’s writing is so effortlessly absurd, that you don’t realise how ridiculous it is until you step away and try to describe it to someone else.

And really, you can’t fault Sneaks at all for rocking more bass-and-fake-drum jams – because, FUCK, how great are these jams? One of Moolchan’s catchiest grooves is on the insecurity behind posturing, the cheekily slick 'Hair Slick Back': “you think you’ve got a lot to say / you think you need a bigger stage”. That’s the best part about Sneaks – while the grooves and wordplay might seem oblique and hipper than thou, Moolchan actually touches on slices of life that other dude-weary listeners can relate to. Dig how succinctly she conveys the dizzying conundrum of desire in 'PBNJ': “something about you / gets me up on my feet / I’m spinning around / stop staring at me”. Plus, she pulls in live drums for the first time on 'Act Out', which is just all kinds of wicked, and needs to happen more often.

Try and poke a hole in It’s A Myth, and Moolchan will poke ya back. It can’t be done. Not only does Sneaks survive the sophomore slump, she dances circles five circles round it without ever (EVER) skipping a beat. Gymnastics’ one flaw was homogeneity, a disappointing de ja vu by the halfway mark; here, Moolchan kicks that to the curb, especially with curveballs like the 20-second synth flutter of 'Daffodils' and the aforementioned 'With A Cherry On Top'. No buts about it: Sneaks is killin’ it right now, and if you don’t get on top of these grooves today, you’ll be eating her dust in a few years.

Pitchfork 73

Brevity defines the music that Washington, D.C.'s Eva Moolchan makes as Sneaks. On her new album It's a Myth, Moolchan logs ten tracks across 18 minutes. On her major label debut Gymnastics, she didn't pass 14 minutes. Her take on post-punk is minimalist and sparse—music that proves there's a virtue in being concise. These details suggest that it would be unnatural for Moolchan to accommodate anything beyond 20 minutes, and the transient nature of her work means there is little to compare her to both past or present.

It's a Myth represents the first Sneaks record for Merge since the label signed Moolchan eight months ago. Sneaks was born out of the desire for full creative control after playing in the short-lived Shit Stains whose first performance to five people included Katie Alice Greer of Priests. Greer introduced Moolchan into the capital's DIY scene becoming a fixture in the community, while coming up with Priests themselves, Flasher, and Downtown Boys.

For It's a Myth, Sneaks recorded the album with Mary Timony (Helium, Ex Hex) and Jonah Takagi, with Timony producing it at her D.C. studio. Extra hands mean more instrumentation and allow for exploring new textures to create a more fluid album. It's a Myth is not a huge leap in sound because Moolchan opts for refinement rather than repurposing the roughness of Gymnastics. According to her Bandcamp tags, they fall within “cold cut,”(?) “zing zong” (??), and “violent vibes.” These descriptors allow Moolchan's music to be flexible in her expression and secure her experimentalism.

The Sneaks template is no more than bass, a drum machine, and vocals. Despite the minimal approach, Moolchan's voice extends beyond the half-rapping, half-singing approach on Gymnastics. On “Inside Edition,” she delivers a hypnotic mantra that becomes the song's groove and using her voice as a melodic tool. That new feature of her work enables the creation of “PBNJ,” in which Moolchan's voice sounds distant, and the music behind her sounds like it’s in a trance state. Moolchan's lyrics are elliptical and playful, suggesting that she writes them in line with a song's rhythm or to her voice's melodic sensibilities.

Moolchan's music may not appear to be as overtly political as the acts around her, but that's not to say she is apolitical. On “Hair Slick Back,” Moolchan sings, “You think you've got a lot to say/No you think you need a bigger stage/You think I can't contain my rage.” The words could be a taunt at the males that dominate DIY scenes. “When you go to a show, and it's filled with all these punk bros,” Moolchan told The Media in 2015. “We should be taking up the space, and not these guys.” Moolchan's presence alone is an act of protest, but with “Hair Slick Back” she offers a statement to rebut those with privilege who think they need more visibility.

Because of Moolchan's devotion to concision, a three-minute song like “Look Like That” is a rare example of when Sneaks expands beyond her realms. It's unfamiliar territory, and as a result, the song is less taut and impactful. It's a Myth is the natural progression from Gymnastics, and so across the record, Moolchan refines her sound within these limits. Inside and outside of the music, she embraces the self-built space that she crafted for herself.