The Sneetches | |
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Origin | San Francisco, California, United States |
Genres | Indie pop, power pop |
Years active | 1985–1995 |
Labels | Kaleidoscope Sound, Creation, Alias, Bus Stop, spinART |
Past members | |
Mike Levy Matt Carges Daniel Swan Alejandro "Alec" Palao |
The Sneetches was an indie pop/power pop band formed in San Francisco, California in 1985, who released several albums before splitting up in the mid-1990s. The band was described by Trouser Press as "one of the most tasteful, consistently tuneful pop bands on the American scene".[1]
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The initial line-up was Mike Levy (vocals, bass) and Matt Carges (guitar) adding English drummer Daniel Swan, formerly of The Cortinas by 1988.[2][3] The band showed influences from the likes of The Zombies, The Left Banke and The Easybeats, all of whom had tracks covered by The Sneetches.[1] They signed to the London-based Kaleidoscope Sound label, and debuted in 1988 with "Only For a Moment", followed by the mini-album Lights Out! With The Sneetches. They were then signed by Creation Records in the UK and Alias Records in the United States, who issued the band's debut full-length album, Sometimes That's All We Have, in 1989, described by Allmusic as "a masterful album highly recommended to all fans of the style".[2][3] Levy switched to guitar with the recruitment of former Stingrays bassist Alejandro "Alec" Palao in 1990.[2] Slow followed on Alias in 1990, the band then moving on to the Bus Stop label for three singles between 1991 and 1993, later compiled on the Think Again compilation.[1]
In 1993, the band recorded a mini-album with Chris Wilson of The Flamin' Groovies, and recorded a final album, Blow Out the Sun, in 1994, before splitting up.[2] A posthumous mini-set, Starfucker, comprising demo recordings of tracks that were not included on Blow Out the Sun, was released by Bus Stop in 1995.[4]
Levy began work on a solo album in 1995, Fireflies, which was eventually released in 2000.[5]