Review: Snakes Say Hisss’ “Right Behind You/Comes And Goes” 7-inch

Snakes Say Hisss’ new 7” is full of infectious beginnings and carefully faded endings. Where it falters is the middle. Instead of reaching for a shimmery plateau, the songs sputter and shrink.

“Comes and Goes” and “Right Behind You” come following four years without new material from the Philly-born Snakes Say Hisss (which now calls Brooklyn home). The band trades in shiny electro-pop, riding the same wave MGMT and Cut Copy came in on. “Comes And Goes” showcases this: it’s highly accessible and pleasant, best suited to cute dancing and days when you need a pick-me-up. Two or three listens in and it will be stuck in your head. But the band is holding something back: they keep interrupting the driving beat with unnecessary, dragging pauses. The listener is waiting for the repetition (which goes flat after 2 1/2 minutes) to be obliterated by a punchy crescendo. It just never happens.

“Right Behind You” finds lead singer Jamie Ayers crooning in a Prince falsetto. The catchy chorus that’s missing in “Comes And Goes” appears in the form of a heartsick couplet (“you don’t want me no more”). The lyrics are fairly simple and standard, but that’s hardly a hindrance to crafting emotionally resonant pop. Ayers’ delivery saves the clichés (“precious time,” “looking right through me,” “tender moment”) from sounding too stale, lending them expressive weight. The biggest problem is the meandering and spooky 30-second lull in the song’s center. It slows things down too much; it’s like hitting the brakes just when you’re wishing for acceleration. “Right Behind You” and “Comes and Goes” are an exercise in synth-soaked build-up. What’s needed is a soaring release.

Snakes Say Hiss performs with Lingerie Party, Wyldlife, and El Malito at 11 p.m. Saturday, July 16, at The Trocadero; tickets to the 21+ show are $10.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktfgLFPXmno