Venom (Awesome Snakes album)
Venom | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | July 17, 2006 | |||
Genre | Punk rock | |||
Length | 23:51 | |||
Label | Crustacean Records, Stand Up! Records | |||
The Awesome Snakes chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Punk News | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Ultimate Guitar | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Sliver Magazine | B+[3] |
Venom is a 2006 album by Minneapolis punk rock band Awesome Snakes, a side project of then-Soviettes members Annie "Sparrows" Holoien and Danny Henry.
History
[edit]Holoien and Henry began The Awesome Snakes as a way to ease the pressure of the Soviettes' increasing success by making what Henry described as a "jokey" and "free and loose" set of punk songs, spiced with audio samples from Henry's collection of odd self-help and how-to tapes.[3]
The instrumentation is deliberately simple, just Holoien on bass and Henry on drums, with the bass played through a Fender Blues Deville amplifier on high distortion.[4][5] The lyrics are also highly focused;[6][7] A.V. Club writer Christopher Bahn noted that the song topics revolve around "two subjects: snakes and/or things that are awesome."[8]
Venom was released July 17, 2006, on Wisconsin record label Crustacean Records.[9][1] A significant step forward in production from their 2004 self-titled, cassette-only debut, Venom featured fifteen tracks recorded in much higher fidelity by their friend Ross and mastered by Dave Gardener, and features a guest appearance by Twin Cities MC P.O.S.[3][10]
On October 15, 2021, Venom was re-released on vinyl by Stand Up! Records, with four songs from the band's 2009 digital EP Snake Cake included as bonus tracks.[7][11][12]
Critical reception
[edit]Venom enjoyed great critical success in the band's home state of Minnesota, being named one of the best albums of 2006 in the Star Tribune's annual Twin Cities Critics Tally[13] and also making the best-of lists for The A.V. Club's Twin Cities edition[14] and Pulse.[15]
Andrea Swensson of City Pages said "they play with a seriousness that sharply contrasts the silly nature of their music."[16] Stephanie Soucheray, writing for Sliver Magazine, said "Venom may be self-referential, vulgar, goofy and weird. But it is never pretentious. The album is the sound of people having fun, and people being honest about their musical intentions."[3] Tim Thompson of Wisconsin's "Local Sounds Magazine" praised Venom's "huge, manic, underground sound ... delivering an almost disembodied psychedelic freak-out in the middle of a garage-punk record."[17]
The album also received critical praise from several national publications, including Alternative Press, which called it "lo-fi, furious, primal garage-rock voodoo";[18] Maximumrocknroll, which called it "smart-arsed, snotty, arty and funny;"[19] and Punk Planet, which called it "a fuzzed up and confrontationally comedic dose of garage bangers and pogo punk punishers."[20] Punk zine Razorcake praised two early demos, 2006's The Stupid Demo and The Cheap-Ass Cassette Demo, calling them "low-fi garage punk that is poppy yet very psychedelic in a go-go kid way."[21][6] The publication was less impressed with Venom itself, saying: "Overall, this seems like a joke band that must be really funny for the people who made it, but for the rest of us it's worth listening to maybe once at the most."[22]
Reviewing the 2021 re-release, Roctober Magazine said "This reissue of an early 2000s Midwestern ridiculous riff rock relic proves that nothing is as timeless as lo fi, stripped down, absurdist snake songs."[7]
In popular culture
[edit]The song "I Want a Snake" is featured in the Electronic Arts skateboarding video game Skate 2.[23]
Track listing
[edit]No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Venom" | 1:55 |
2. | "I Want a Snake" | 1:33 |
3. | "Shut Up!" | 2:16 |
4. | "Whiskey vs. Police" | 0:27 |
5. | "It Would Be Awesome if We Weren't Here" | 1:28 |
6. | "You Don't Like Snakes, I Don't Like You" | 2:18 |
7. | "Snakes vs. Jerks" | 1:11 |
8. | "These Snakes Get High!" | 1:00 |
9. | "Awesome Snacks" | 1:35 |
10. | "Awesome Party" | 2:06 |
11. | "1950's UFO vs. Snakes" | 0:38 |
12. | "Awesome 6-Pack" | 2:11 |
13. | "You Got Snakes All Up in Your Grill" | 1:43 |
14. | "P.O.S. vs. Awesome Snakes" | 1:45 |
15. | "The Future of the Snake Industry" | 1:52 |
Total length: | 23:51 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
16. | "Moola" | 2:46 |
17. | "You Got Another Thing Comin'" | 2:03 |
18. | "Birthday Party Sally" | 2:28 |
19. | "Fist Fight" | 2:28 |
References
[edit]- ^ a b Simpson, Greg (February 20, 2007). "Awesome Snakes – Venom review". PunkNews.org. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
- ^ "Venom Review". ultimate-guitar.com. December 19, 2006. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
- ^ a b c d Soucheray, Stephanie (October 29, 2006). "Awesome Snakes – Venom". Sliver Magazine. Archived from the original on July 2, 2007. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
- ^ Wiedenhoeft, John (July 13, 2006). "King Club Really Gets Awesome". Wisconsin State Journal. Madison, Wisconsin. p. 19.
- ^ Jacob Harkins, Brandon Erkkila (April 5, 2019). "Awesome Snakes- Venom". Agonizing Audio Hour (Podcast). Retrieved November 19, 2021.
- ^ a b "AWESOME SNAKES, THE: Cheap-Ass Cassette Demo: CD-R". Razorcake. September 5, 2006. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
- ^ a b c "Awesome Snakes "Venom"". Roctober. November 4, 2021. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
- ^ Bahn, Christopher (September 7, 2006). "The Awesome Snakes Discuss The Awesomeness Of Various Snakes". The A.V. Club. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
- ^ Awesome Snakes – Venom at AllMusic
- ^ Awesome Snakes – Venom at Discogs
- ^ "Awesome Snakes". October 15, 2021. Retrieved November 30, 2021 – via Facebook.
- ^ "ASS10: Awesome Snakes – Snake Cake". Ass Records. October 1, 2009. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
- ^ Riemenschneider, Chris (January 5, 2007). "Twin Cities Critics Tally: The Best of Local Music in 2006". Star Tribune. Minneapolis–Saint Paul.
- ^ Bahn, Christopher (December 14, 2006). "Best Music Of 2006: Loon State Edition". The A.V. Club. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
- ^ McPherson, Steve (December 28, 2006). "Year-End Best: The 20 '06". Pulse of the Twin Cities. Minnesota. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
- ^ Swensson, Andrea (July 29, 2009). "Awesome Snakes". City Pages. Minneapolis.
- ^ Thompson, Tim (August 10, 2006). "Awesome Snakes – Venom". Local Sounds. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
- ^ "Awesome Snakes, Venom". Alternative Press. No. 220. Cleveland. November 2006. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
- ^ Darling, Andy (October 2006). "Records: Awesome Snakes – Venom (CD)". Maximumrocknroll. No. 281. San Francisco. p. 114. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
- ^ Moss, Brian (May–June 2007). "Aweseome Snakes: Venom, CD". Punk Planet. No. 79. Chicago. p. 109. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
- ^ "AWESOME SNAKES, THE: Stupid Demo: CD-R". Razorcake. July 6, 2006. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
- ^ Donnerparty, Jason (January 18, 2007). "AWESOME SNAKES, THE: Venom: CD". Razorcake. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
- ^ Altizer, Roger (July 1, 2019). "Skate It and Skate 2 Soundtracks". Lifewire. Retrieved November 19, 2021.