“Are the Snuggle Ups joking? Guys in their 20s singing upbeat, electro-pop songs about love and friendship? As it turns out, Prineville natives Liam K. and Brett W. couldn’t be more sincere. So go to a show, immerse yourself in the sweat-soaked masses, set down your drink and go dance with your friends. After all, that’s what the Snuggle Ups are all about.” - Sarah Dylan, former co-host, Alternative Mornings on 94.7 FM, from Willamette Week’s Best New Bands 2005 feature
No, the Snuggle Ups are not joking. Though the title of the Portland, Ore. electro-pop duo’s debut album, Extremely Popular, might seem like simplistic high-school parody on the surface, it’s actually a near-perfect description of their effervescent sound. This is extreme pop, rooted in that genre’s pleasure principle and coated in its glossy sheen, but delivered with a physical and emotional intensity that’s half rave, half hardcore.
Childhood friends from the small town of Prineville, Oregon, Liam Kenna and Brett Whitman played music together for ten years before setting down their guitars and forming the Snuggle Ups in 2003. The next year they released their debut album on Portland indie label Lucky Madison, combining heartfelt lyrics about love and friendship, often-times their own, with thick electro beats and uber-catchy melodies.
Their live show, a sweaty mass of dancing, smiling and life-affirming positivity, has quickly become one of the most beloved in Portland, as evidenced by a sold out CD release show accompanied by Sub Pop recording artists The Thermals.
In April 2005 local alt-weekly Willamette Week named the Snuggle Ups as one of the best new bands in Portland.
PRESS QUOTES }}}
“It’s not every day that two straight guys take the stage and extol the virtues of friendship to glitchy electro beats like a pair of speed-addled Care Bears. […] The Snuggle Ups’ hand-holding charm… grows out of a smirking self-awareness that they are saying things that hip twentysomethings ultimately feel, but would rather swallow their white belts than say out loud.” – Mark Baumgarten, Willamette Week
“Charming boylectro-pop duo the Snuggle Ups are neither short on energy, nor on dance moves, bursting upwards with popcorn-like vigor, and chanting yarns of love gone awry (et cetera) to beats and guitar.” – Julianne Shepherd, Portland Mercury
“The Snuggle Ups’ premiere, Extremely Popular, is a showcase of the energetic, gleeful style that their local shows have become known for… bright, robot dance-inspiring, shamelessly adoring love songs sung with wide-open arms.” – Marjorie Skinner, Portland Mercury
WEBSTATIONS }}}
http://www.thesnuggleups.com
http://www.luckymadison.com/snuggle.htm