Sonic Sea Turtles - "First Snowfall" | Sunday Single

(Cover art by Billie Renaux)

Here's some of that emo that was hiding from my year-end list. Right off the bat, Sonic Sea Turtles establish themselves as capable songwriters, capturing the specific melancholy and self-loathing of Minnesota's infinite winter.

The quartet put out their debut EP Sound Pollution just last August, but they've kept relatively active with releasing new songs (at least for a DIY band). While "First Snowfall" may describe the sky's initial offering of cold and sleet, the emotions are all-too-familiar. "The winter is holding off the spring" isn't the response of someone encountering a new, frozen reality; it's someone who casts their mind back to years of prior understanding and weight. However, there's a slight uplift at the end of the song's harmonious chorus — "construct a fire when it gets cold / there is still summer under the snow." The framing of the seasons simultaneously establishes that this is a yearly struggle but not one that cannot be overcome.

Musically, Sonic Sea Turtles stays mostly within the emo wheelhouse. Arpeggiated guitar lines, imperfect and emotive vocals, a stab of dissonance here and there. The one unprecedented aspect of their sound comes in the form of cellist/vocalist Olivia Leach. Bursts of strings pop in where one might expect another guitar to be. Leach and guitarist/vocalist Daniel Ernst carry much of the song across its snow-laden path with their dueling and harmonized vocal lines; the rhythm section of Erin Minor and Grant Quinlan serve their roles well and clear the path just ahead with their robust playing.

"First Snowfall" continues the hot streak of material SST (no, not the label) released throughout 2019. At this rate, we'll hopefully get another EP by the spring. Watch the lyric video below, or listen on the streaming service of your choice.