Kathy Snax: "Don't Lament Your Musical Limitations; Work Within Them! Constraints Can Be Empowering and Even Give You Direction"

Kathy Snax's new EP Shangri-La is a shimmering, synth-forward journey through emotional ambiguity, memory, and the elusive nature of closure. Expanding from her previous solo efforts into a full-band sound, Shangri-La blends punchy power pop and otherworldly synth-pop with lyrical introspection and subtle melancholy. Recorded at the legendary Q Division Studios in Cambridge, Massachusetts with longtime friends and collaborators, the EP showcases Snax's knack for infectious melodies layered over reflective, often bittersweet narratives, from the hit-bound title track to the haunting allure of "Witching Hour." Pure pop for now people!

Hot Sounds: Where did you grow up and what was the local scene like? What sort of records or books/magazines would we find if we would travel back in time in your teenage room?

Kathy Snax: I'm from Albany, NY. Growing up, I didn't see many local bands that played the kind of music I like, and I don't remember ever seeing girls playing in those bands. It was all dudes playing emo and hardcore. I didn't have a model or a template of people I knew actually doing it. It probably existed but I just didn't find it. In terms of music I was listening to, Ben Folds was pretty seminal for me when I was about twelve! Sort of my entry point into indie music. I saw him play at Skidmore College when I was in eight grade and cried because I was so moved! What a sight that must have been. Later, when I was in high school, my friend Kathleen showed me a diagram her college-age brother had made of indie rock bands, their genres, their influences, etc. Classic "older sibling showing the youth the way" situation. It was a cheat sheet, a treasure map of sorts. I found out about so many bands from that piece of paper — the Elephant Six bands, Magnetic Fields, Pavement, and more. Stuff I still love today. In terms of books, I mostly read fiction as a teen, but like so many of us, I remember Our Band Could Be Your Life knocking my knee socks off and immediately seeking out the music from all of the bands mentioned in that book. 

HS: When did you first become aware that you wanted to play music or front a band and what made you want to go in this creative direction? 

KS: I took piano lessons from the age of eight through high school. It was all classical (although I once bought a book of Ben Folds' sheet music and implored my very confused piano teacher to teach it to me). Even though I learned to read music, I had no idea what was going on music theory-wise; however, being immersed in that much music gives you an ear for what works even if you don't know why. Sometimes it's better to not know why, I think. Separately, I got into indie rock in early high school and was a college radio DJ, but I didn't consider the possibility that I could play in a band. It wasn't that I was nervous or felt like I couldn't do it — it simply didn't occur to me. It wasn't until I was in my mid-20s and volunteering at Girls Rock Camp Boston that I met and became friends with like-minded music nerds in bands. It was such a powerful experience. I started playing with my first band, The Kitschenettes, with other volunteers from that camp only a few weeks later. I've been going ever since. In terms of the Kathy Snax project, please don't think I'm a gear head, but I really have to credit the Boss looper pedal for empowering me to write solo. I had been writing songs in other bands, but I'm a limited guitar player and I don't play keyboard well enough to accompany myself solo for an entire song. The looper pedal and drum machine allowed me to create layered parts that I could assemble into full compositions. It became fascinating to me to think of music as not only linear but a vertical stack of discrete parts, a kind of mosaic. I was also hugely inspired by minimal electropop singers like Molly Nilsson, Anna Domino, and Rose McDowall — the sparseness of the music and the subtlety of their vocal delivery is so emotionally powerful. In terms of translating the solo Snax songs to the full band, it happened pretty organically. I had been playing music informally with my bandmates Dave (bass), Al (guitar), Skibo (drums), and Seth (also guitar) for years in the basement of Al's work in Cambridge, Massachusetts. They're some of my closest friends — I've known Dave and Al for half of my life. One night, I showed them some of my solo stuff and it was thrilling to realize the possibilities and potential for these songs with a full band. They're all incredibly collaborative, talented, and just as importantly, a great hang.

HS: What are some groups you're currently playing in and what can you tell readers about them?

KS: I'm currently in way too many bands! Kathy Snax is my main project, which again, is sometimes solo and sometimes a band. The songs of course sound different based on the incarnation — when I play solo, the songs are more minimal synthscapes and I'd like to think a little eerie. The full Snax band still foregrounds the synth but has a much fuller, more jubilant sound. I also play keyboard and sing in a band called Adult Learners, which makes hooky garage pop that's borderline punk. All of the songs are under two minutes. Another project, Hidden Fountain, makes synth-based exotica/lounge music — it's probably the biggest departure from any band I've played in before. I also play with a retro-rock band called the Delons. Whew! I think that's everything!

HS: What can you tell me about your latest EP Shangri-La and what insight can you share about how and where it was recorded? Was there a particular moment or inspiration that sparked this EP?

KS: Other than the title track "Shangri-La," which I wrote just before recording the EP, I had been playing these songs with the band for a few years. My buddy, recording engineer extraordinaire Pete Weiss, came to one of our shows and was enthusiastic about the full band sound and how well we played off one another. (They are some of my closest and oldest friends and I'm so glad that chemistry is palpable when we're on stage. I swear, you can always tell when bands are actual friends!) He expressed interest in recording us, and the material was mostly ready to go because we had been playing it live for so long. We recorded at Q Division Studios in Cambridge. It's a pretty legendary place! The likes of the Pixies, Mission of Burma, and Graham Parker have recorded there. My biggest takeaways from that recording session are that 1) clap tracks are much more punishing to record than you could possibly imagine and 2) when trouble-shooting sound issues, it's never the cable…until it's the cable.

HS: What were some of the highlights putting together the four tracks? 

KS: Getting to arrange and finetune the details with the band. I love nothing more than when a song is 95% done and you get to just tinker with the details.

HS: How would you compare this new EP to 2018's The Spooks? 

KS: A much different sound! The Spook EPs was all solo stuff — only my vocals, synthesizers, and a drum machine. It has a very minimal, spare sound. The new EP, while still electropop and vocal-forward, is more of a rock and power pop record.

HS: Across the four tracks, are there any specific emotional threads or stories you’re weaving through this EP? 

KS: There's a plaintiveness to all of the songs, even the poppy numbers. I'm a big history nerd and I'm kind of obsessed with not just what happened but how we remember what happened and the slipperiness of memory — I think this translates to my emotional world as well and what inspires my lyrics. There's a theme of longing for something in the past, but the narrator is also vexed by how inscrutable that past has become to them. They want to believe in their memory of something special but also question if it meant anything at all. Now that I think about it, every song includes the narrator asking questions to their subject, trying to understand what happened during their time together, trying to know the unknowable about someone else's experience. ...Maybe I'll try writing something uplifting next!

HS: Diving into the toons, what's the story behind the opening title track?

KS: "Shangri-La" is the first song I wrote explicitly to play with the full band. (It wouldn't work solo — I can't loop it. There's a bridge!) I had been listening to a lot of The Go-Go's and '70s power pop and wanted to write something with that kind of energy and infectious melody. Lyrically, I wanted to capture the feeling of disappointment when something doesn't work out after letting your guard down and being hopeful about it. It's about looking back on that hope, that promise of Shangri-La. Yet again, sunny melodies contrasted with dark subject matter! I swear it's not all doom and gloom in my brain.

HS: What inspired "Witching Hour"?

KS: I think I just really wanted to write a spooky song in a minor key! I find myself defaulting to these ebullient chord progressions (which are often juxtaposed with dark lyrics), so it was fun to write in a different mode. I was going for sort of a gothy/Echo and the Bunnymen vibe. Lyrically, most of my songs are about longing in one way or another, and directing your melancholy at the moon in the darkness of night felt like a poignant image. It's also intentionally a little melodramatic. I play this song a lot solo, but bringing it to the band allowed us to infuse it with additional dynamics, like cutting out during the last chorus before the big crescendo at the end. Pete Weiss (the engineer) also added some really cool acoustic guitar throughout and atmospheric harp samples which enhance the song immensely.

 HS: How did the song "Changeling" come together? 

KS: This is another song I've played solo for a while. I actually put the solo version out as a single in 2021 (recorded by Caufield Schnug of Sweeping Promises — an absolute WIZARD of engineering and production). Even in its solo incarnation, it is a song that begins with just vocals and minimal bass and then builds and builds and builds into something more urgent. Playing this song with the full band meant that that "building" could mount to absolute chaos. Seth and Al's dueling guitars at the end are pure magic.

HS: What can you tell me about the closing cut "Rides At Night"? 

KS: This is the oldest song on the EP and one of the first songs I ever wrote. My bandmates and I have played it for years while informally jamming long before it became a Kathy Snax song. It probably has the most inane lyrics of all the songs on the record — I had come up with the chord progression and melody and was playing it over and over on guitar just singing nonsense until something stuck. I like the mystery of it though, ultimately! Who is she? Where (and what!) is she riding? Who is the narrator and why are they waiting? Anyone's guess! I was also listening to a lot of Angel Olsen at the time, and she writes a lot of songs with an "A B A B C" structure — this inspired me to end the song with a coda that sounds like a completely different song but hopefully gives it a dramatic punch of a finish.

HS: Is there a track on the EP that feels most personal to you? 

KS: Probably "Changeling" and "Shangri-La." Both are inspired by real experiences, sort of, but are ultimately about being stuck in your own head trying to make sense of something that happened in the past that will forever be inscrutable. Because both are about ambiguity, they are also ambiguous enough that the lyrics mean something different to me at different times.

HS: What are some future plans for you? 

KS: In terms of extremely immediate plans, the band is playing a tape release show at Lizard Lounge in Cambridge, MA this Saturday, 5/31! I have a bunch of new songs that work better in my more minimalist solo mode, so I'm hoping to record those soon. I also want to book some mini tours — East Coast, South, West Coast — later this year. If you wanna play a show, hit me up!

HS: Any advice or last words you'd like to share with our readers?

KS: Don't lament your musical limitations; work within them! Constraints can be empowering and even give you direction. Working with limited possibilities can produce a more beautiful, authentic output than working with ALL of the possibilities. I can't play keyboard like Billy Joel, but I've found a way to loop parts and create a sound that is hopefully unique to me. And a three chord song I wrote because they were the only guitar chords I knew at the time is one of the most fun songs I've ever written. And make music with your friends.