Biography
Snooper hail from Nashville and deliver punk rock laced with pop hooks without qualifying as pop-punk, their scrappy and frantic approach remaining inviting because the players refuse to polish away jagged edges. Blair Tramel handles vocals in a bright sing-song manner shot through with sharp energy that prevents any hint of softness, while the band’s instrumentalists lay down rigid textures that inject a synth-pop flavor even amid guitar-heavy arrangements, a trait likely strengthened by their occasional use of a drum machine. The lo-fi early EPs Music for Spies from 2020 and Town Topic from 2022 preserved the group’s attack in immediate, unvarnished form, whereas the 2023 album Super Snooper brought greater studio polish without diminishing force or character.
Blair Tramel, a video artist who also sings, and guitarist Connor Cummins, a longtime presence in the Music City underground who had previously played in Spodee Boy, Vacant Future, Safety Net, and G.U.N., launched Snooper in Nashville as a recording-only endeavor to occupy themselves during the COVID-19 pandemic, laying down their initial homemade tracks amid the 2020 lockdown. Their debut EP, Music for Spies, arrived in October 2020, followed by the five-song Snooper in May 2021; October 2021 then saw the cassette Compilation of The…Hits, which collected the two EPs plus two bonus tracks. Later that year Nashville Scene included the band in its year-end poll in the categories “What local artist/band ruled Nashville in 2021?” and “What local artist/band is going to rule in 2022?” In 2022 the group began playing live, expanding the lineup with drummer Cam Sarrett, guitarist Ian Teeple, and bassist Happy Haugen; one performance was issued on cassette and digitally as Live at Exit/In 11-23-22, a show mounted to mark the release of Town Topic. Nashville Scene subsequently named Snooper the city’s best live band, and the resulting attention prompted Third Man Records, Jack White’s Music City label, to sign them, leading to the July 2023 release of their first proper album, Super Snooper.
Blair Tramel, a video artist who also sings, and guitarist Connor Cummins, a longtime presence in the Music City underground who had previously played in Spodee Boy, Vacant Future, Safety Net, and G.U.N., launched Snooper in Nashville as a recording-only endeavor to occupy themselves during the COVID-19 pandemic, laying down their initial homemade tracks amid the 2020 lockdown. Their debut EP, Music for Spies, arrived in October 2020, followed by the five-song Snooper in May 2021; October 2021 then saw the cassette Compilation of The…Hits, which collected the two EPs plus two bonus tracks. Later that year Nashville Scene included the band in its year-end poll in the categories “What local artist/band ruled Nashville in 2021?” and “What local artist/band is going to rule in 2022?” In 2022 the group began playing live, expanding the lineup with drummer Cam Sarrett, guitarist Ian Teeple, and bassist Happy Haugen; one performance was issued on cassette and digitally as Live at Exit/In 11-23-22, a show mounted to mark the release of Town Topic. Nashville Scene subsequently named Snooper the city’s best live band, and the resulting attention prompted Third Man Records, Jack White’s Music City label, to sign them, leading to the July 2023 release of their first proper album, Super Snooper.
Albums
Singles
