Something Sneaky - Something New
An exclusive interview with Something Sneaky.
Some bands spend years trying to find where they fit. Something Sneaky made a career out of refusing to. Long occupying the strange middle ground between Boston’s sweat-soaked DIY basements and its established rock clubs, the quartet have always thrived in the friction—too chaotic for indie traditionalists, too hook-driven for punk purists, and all the more compelling because of it. Their latest EP, Old Notes, doesn’t smooth out those contradictions; it weaponises them. Ten Tons Of Tone caught up with the band to talk inspiration, creative freedom, recording process, and why the best songs often come from embracing the mess.
Ten Tons Of Tone : What inspired the name of the EP being “Old Notes”, and when you were writing and recording these songs, what was the guiding idea or emotion holding the EP together?
Justin Iacovino (Something Sneaky) : We had originally planned on releasing the EP around March 2020 – not ideal as we would come to learn – and we planned on having the title track be “Gold Notes.” If you take a look back through our discography you’ll hear references to different colored notes: “Green Notes” from No Opinion Needed; references to notes turning from green to red in “Glass” from Pictures; and the song “Gold Notes” was originally intended to be a bit of a sequel to “Green Notes.”
After sitting for years, and finally completing its metamorphosis (through remixing / remastering) we really felt like it deserved a new name. We’re older now, the songs have grown up – Old Notes made more sense. In terms of the guiding idea or emotion – we were just really committed to building songs together. We wanted each song to have a sense of ownership from each bandmember.
Ten Tons Of Tone : “Hole Foods” has this layered confrontational energy while still staying incredibly melodic. How did that track come together, and why did it feel like the right focus single for the release?
Justin (Something Sneaky) : We’ve made plenty of quiet/loud songs over the years. We’re all fans of the Pixies, and I love how they can go from harsh to extremely melodic. “Hole Foods” started off as the chord progression and vocal melody you hear from the start – we experimented with some different chorus ideas, but one that consistently kept popping into my head was this idea of dropping from the loud guitars and vocals to synth bass.
I remember researching the Moog tone used on the College & Electric Youth Song “A Real Hero” from the Drive soundtrack, and created an early demo of what it would sound like. We never practiced or played live with that, but at Big Nice Studio in Rhode Island, Chaimes Parker had a Moog clone that we dialed into the settings I had researched, and it seemed to work well. As a focus track, I think it offers a little sample of all of the genres we can jump in and out of as a band – almost like a movie trailer.
Ten Tons Of Tone : Back in the mid 2010’s, you occupied a space between Boston’s DIY scene and the more traditional club circuit. How did existing between those worlds shape the identity of Something Sneaky?
Justin (Something Sneaky) : I remember we would sometimes play back to back shows in the early 2010s – we’d play a rock club on a Friday, and then play a college basement show on a Saturday. It definitely shaped the way in which we write and perform songs. Playing basement shows, you rarely have monitors, you’re usually playing out of a cheap PA, you’re cranking your amps so you can hear them over the drums – so even just to get the crowd to hear you, you end up adjusting how you play: singing in a higher octave to cut through, raising the energy on the drums to match the crowd, layering boost pedals in choruses or solos, or dropping a rhythm guitar in a verse.
For rock clubs, you now have monitors, a sound engineer is dialing you in – now you get to hear whether or not your “basement” adjustments work or sound like shit. Bouncing back and forth between these worlds, and practicing/writing in a basement, we ended up adjusting songs and our style a lot.
If you go back and listen to our first record, we recorded those without ever performing any of them live. If you then listen to live versions of them now, you’ll hear how the basements and rock clubs changed them and all of our subsequent tracks.
Ten Tons Of Tone : Your music has always balanced accessibility with experimentation. Do you consciously think about that balance when writing, or has it naturally become part of the band’s DNA?
Justin (Something Sneaky) : It’s definitely in our DNA more than it is a conscious choice. Most song writers have their subconscious influences – driven by the music that got them to love/play music in the first place. For me it’s some of those early blink-182 / Jimmy Eat World chord progressions that were more mainstream accessible – but stacked with all of the layers of music I discovered in high school / college (Fugazi, Pixies, Pavement, Built to Spill just to name a few) that really drove me to want to create. My dad played music in the ‘60 and ‘70s and I grew up with bands/artists like Tom Petty, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Van Morrison as a constant backdrop in the house or car. Chris, Jeremy, and Jesse each have their own journey that pushes/pulls the music in different directions.
Ten Tons Of Tone : What was the recording process like for the EP, was it intense, spontaneous, or was there a more methodical approach behind the scenes?
Justin (Something Sneaky) : Long. We had tried different methods over the years for other releases (completely DIY, or just doing drums at a studio, mixing on our own, mixing at a pro studio, etc). For this EP we just knew we wanted a solid foundation. So the first step was recording drums, bass, and rhythm guitars at the Noise Floor studio in Dover, New Hampshire. Once we had that foundation, we could record demos on top of those or experiment – take our time. This is exactly what we did between 2018 and 2019 until finally decorating that foundation with guitars, keys, vocals, etc. But, it didn’t end there.
Because of the dormancy period between COVID and us finally releasing it, we had plenty of time to question/rethink parts. Jesse did this a few times – re-recording lead parts, re-recording entire guitar takes with new guitars/amps/mics. But I think the most important thing we did was remix the songs with Larry Crane at Jackpot! in Portland, Oregon.
Our ears had grown tired and the songs needed a new perspective – Larry was able to do just that: stripping down all the tracks and building them back up, highlighting the best parts and tightening everything up. The underlying performances didn’t change, but the EP felt very much alive again.
Ten Tons Of Tone : Over the years, what do you think has changed the most about the way Something Sneaky approaches songwriting?
Justin (Something Sneaky) : We adjust to whichever phase of the band we’re in, and we’ve learned to write in the way that best mirrors that phase. In years where we were all living close together and practicing once or twice a week, we could capitalize on the group writing approach. In years where we’re further apart, a new song might require a demo first before layering in more. I don’t think we’re stuck to any one way, but we’ve learned we can write in many different ways.
Ten Tons Of Tone : Boston and the surrounding music community have changed a lot over the past decade. From your perspective, what has been gained, and what has been lost, in the local scene since your early days?
Justin (Something Sneaky) : The most obvious thing that has been lost are venues closing. It seemed like every year that went by there was one less place to play. We’re older now, and less in touch with the college scene, but it does seem like there is a renewed energy in the city. The bands are hungry, but friendly, and there’s a community feel. It also feels like there are way more bands playing shows now vs when we started . It's great that the Boston scene is constantly growing and evolving.
Ten Tons Of Tone : With the release show happening at Deep Cuts, what kind of experience did you hope people walked away with after hearing these songs live for the first time?
Justin (Something Sneaky) : The show was fun! I hope people enjoy it and know that we’re not going anywhere. We also got a chance to film a bunch of it which ended up in our music video for “Stevie’s Here” – so for anyone that missed it, check that out!
If Old Notes proves anything, it’s that Something Sneaky are still far more interested in movement than comfort. Their songs crash together like opposing currents, equal parts melody, noise and nervous energy, while refusing to settle into easy categorisation. That’s exactly where the band seem happiest. Whether they’re writing about relationships between people, music, addiction or anxiety, the emotional undercurrent remains unmistakably human.