Joe Sneva’s latest single is a colorful piece of contemporary pop with a deceptively simple arrangement and singing that will put a smile on your face.
The Seattle-based Joe Sneva is a singer-songwriter who, along with a pair of school friends, manage to craft beautiful pop songs that are rich with detail and nuance, without ever feeling crowded or losing a bit of their fresh, flowing feel. Joe’s latest is a rich song he wrote for his niece.
Ivy is vivid, dynamic, and touching. The song’s sole chord progression is a stirring, multi-faceted one that allowed the band -formed of Sneva, Jarrod Fenner on the drums, and Aaron Wilford on the bass- to easily paint over it, making it sound cheerful at times, wistful at others. The song’s sound is organic and earthy. The drums are punchy, the bass sounds tight and boomy, and the levels of reverb on everything, including Sneva’s vocals, is fine-tuned to make the song sound spacious and expansive. The roomy sound is further amplified by Sneva’s voice, which sounds like a rich fusion between Mac DeMarco and The Growlers’ Brooks Nielsen. Sneva’s delivery is full of boyish charisma. He truly sounds like a cool uncle on Ivy, and the surf guitar riffs he plays on the song make him an even cooler uncle. The guitar sounds lush, gently hitting dynamic power chords, strumming full chords, or playing that one memorable lick, the tone is on point with its light overdrive.
Ivy is a truly joyful piece of pop that’s fresh and warm. With sweet lyrics and a soundscape that’s hard to forget, this song is an easy-to-recommend one for the beautiful spring that’s upon us.
