“A damn love letter”: Snarls’ Sophomore LP ‘With Love,’ Basks in the Heat of Intimate Connection, Raw Emotion & Alt-Rock Energy

snarls © Sumner Howells
snarls © Sumner Howells
snarls’ Chlo White, Riley Hall, and Mick Martinez take us track-by-track through the band’s seductive and spirited sophomore album ‘With Love’ – a hard-hitting alt-rock love letter marrying heartfelt emotions with high-octane sound, giving the most powerful emotion the powerful soundtrack it deserves.
Stream: “Big Fish” – snarls




If you are naturally kind, be vocal about it. In a world of Instagram reels comments, face-to-face kindness is a form of spiritual healing.

Don’t you ever let me go,” Chlo White demands at the start of her band’s brand-new album.

And yet, for forty breathtaking minutes, it’s snarls who don’t let us go: The midwestern trio hold on tight, demanding our attention as they shower the airwaves with their seductive, searing alt-rock songs that leave an instant, lasting mark. Enchanting and impassioned, snarls come to life with raw emotion; with breathtaking energy; and with love.

The band’s tenderly-titled sophomore album is a hard-hitting alt-rock love letter marrying heartfelt emotions with high-octane music, giving the most powerful emotion the powerful soundtrack it deserves.

With Love, - Snarls
With Love, – Snarls
Now my lipstick is on your hand,
so I hope you’ll understand

That my heart is shattered,
so don’t you ever let me go

Now my dress is coming down
‘cause you’ve got me figured out

This is something that I’m sure,
don’t you ever let me go
‘Cause I’ll always love you,
I’m in your corner, too
Carry you in my heart everyday
With love
– “With Love,” snarls

Released May 3, 2024 via Take This To Heart Records, With Love, is a charming, churning, and supercharged fever dream. The long-awaited follow-up to snarls’ 2020 debut album Burst sees the Columbus, Ohio band – now a trio comprised of vocalist/guitarist Chlo White, bassist/vocalist Riley Hall, and guitarist/vocalist and Mick Martinez – basking in the all-consuming throes of human connection. Teaming up with ex-Death Cab for Cutie founding member Chris Walla (whose production credits include Foxing and Ratboys), the band hold nothing back in bringing their deepest emotions – scars and all – to life while celebrating that higher power that binds us together.

snarls © Sumner Howells
snarls © Sumner Howells



“We knew exactly what we wanted to write,” Chlo White tells Atwood Magazine. “We wrote this record during a time of serious introspection for the whole group, and it covers all kinds of topics from love to loss, confidence to self-loathing, all the various ups and downs we’ve gone through in such a transformative period of time.”

“However, there wasn’t necessarily a distinct concept at first. The band was very inspired by our own friendship and our individual relationships at the time, as well as the various electric love songs by other bands we blast in the car together. Our vision never changed. It became increasingly clearer to us that we were doing the right things. We all just love love, I think.”

Whereas Burst proved a powerful introduction, and set a high bar with beloved tracks like “Walk in the Woods” and “Marbles,” White strongly feels that With Love, is her and the band’s best work to date; a collection of songs from a group that have come into their own, finding their voice together over these past four years.

“Most of Burst was written when I was under 18, then recorded when I was 19,” she explains. “I don’t believe there was much of a direction being followed but the thing I still love to do – write. I quickly came to adore being a part of a band. It required that I take my work more seriously, which was something I really struggled with at the time. As I got older, I naturally outgrew a lot of self-doubt, but I have Mick and Riley to thank for a lot of it as well. ‘We got this,’ they always say.”

“The new record undoubtedly reflects it being written by more confident versions of ourselves. There’s a sparkle across all of these new songs that is so different from the one in Burst. We know what we’re chasing after in life now. We just wanna write rock records and be together.”

snarls © Sumner Howells
snarls © Sumner Howells



The three words White chooses to describe With Love, are fittingly familiar: I love you.

They chose the title With Love, “because the album is a damn love letter!” she beams. “Dear reader, don’t ever cross the road without looking. With love, Snarls.”

Highlights abound throughout the journey from title track and opener “With Love” to the smoldering, spectacular 8-minute finale “Ur Song / Lovers of Valdaro,” which closes the record with fire, fury, and as much dramatic flare as the band can muster. snarls shine bright on songs like “Big Fish” and “Moon Tides,” both of which find the trio blending their driving, harder rock edge with sweeter, dulcet, and irresistibly catchy indie pop melodies.

“My favorite lyric is ‘The ebb and flow of our love is that of moon tides, and your light is what pulls me back in every time’ from ‘Moon Tides,’ White smiles. “I remember the look I received from both Mick and Riley when I said the second half of that line out loud. Their eyes screamed ‘YES!’”




snarls © Sumner Howells
snarls © Sumner Howells

Elsewhere, the visceral, honest, and exposed “Baby Bangs” finds the group in their element and at their most introspective, melancholic, and brooding. Brutally honest and unapologetically hard-hitting, this song is the musical equivalent of holding a mirror up to oneself; it’s the cruel light of day, penetrating the thoughts we bury deep down inside, hoping no one (including ourselves) ever digs hard enough to find them.

I want to cut my hair, my bangs are way overgrown, and I’m so scared that you’ll leave me for someone more beautiful,” White sings, her voice a commanding beacon of angst and unrelenting inner pain. “Here I am in my solitude,” she continues. “It’s hard to understand what I care about, what I look like, and who I am…” So begins a hushed, haunting, and uncompromising alt-rock confessional. Riley Hall and Mick Martinez join in the reckoning, and together as one, the trio explode in breathtaking, shiver-inducing fury:

We could have a house on top of a hill
Take your car to a place we’ve never been
Then go home and make out on the couch
Is this all a lie I tell myself?
Wish I wasn’t so narcissistic
Wish that I was easier to deal with
Wish I could love you without needing
some type of therapeutic assistance




snarls © Sumner Howells
snarls © Sumner Howells

Wherever you press play on With Love, a seductive sonic storm is sure to greet your ears.

snarl have never sounded sweeter, and yet even their sweetest is searing: They set out to kill us with kindness, giving their all to ten unapologetic, uncompromising, and undeniable tracks that roar and soar with the warmth of love and human connection.

As far as takeaways for herself and for others, White boils everything down to five big points:

  1. Never take yourself too seriously. Our grace and love for others is reflected in that we have for ourselves.
  2. The friends that stick by you are your family. They are there because they want to be, not because they have to.
  3. Speak from your heart to everyone. If you are honest about who you are, you’ll attract the right people.
  4. If you are naturally kind, be vocal about it. In a world of Instagram reels comments, face-to-face kindness is a form of spiritual healing.
  5. Not everyone has learned what you have in life yet, or maybe they won’t. Be open to new perspectives and be willing to share yours. The answers to the mysteries of life people try to find in bookstores or online often lie in conversations we have with one another.

True to its name, With Love, is a record made with love. You can hear it in each of snarls’ songs – in the contour’s of White’s voice, in the weight and warmth of the guitars, in how the drums hit with unrelenting strength, and more. Catch some feelings for this full LP by listening with our below stream, and peek inside Snarls’ with love, with Atwood Magazine as Chlo White, Riley Hall, and Mick Martinez take us track-by-track through the music and lyrics of their sophomore album!

with love, is out now via Take This To Heart Records.

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:: stream/purchase with love, here ::
:: connect with snarls here ::
Stream: ‘with love,’ – Snarls



:: Inside with love, ::

With Love, - Snarls

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With Love

The opening title track, “With Love” kicks off the album with a massive power pop sound that makes you all warm inside. When we initially finished writing the song, it became a very solid starting point for the rest of the album that allowed us to dive into the many different facets of love. No battery way to start than with a song that you can’t help but sing into a hairbrush with your favorite person. – Riley Hall

Big Fish

I’ve spent the majority of my life having trouble feeling truly deserving of what is mine, but after the girls and I formed Snarls, that completely changed. I’ve seen with my eyes how hard (nearly obsessive) work can pay off. I’m no longer afraid of wanting more or wishing that my dreams come true. “Big Fish” is a tribute to the simple subject of manifestation. Mick, Riley, and I have discussed how we used to stare in awe at idols like Tegan and Sara, Gwen Stefani, Alanis Morissette (and now, the entirety of Wolf Alice) and want that for ourselves. We have always believed in what we were doing, but after some pretty serious tours under our belt and traveling experience, I feel that we are on the path to something unimaginably cool. – Chlo White

Heavy Drinker

“Heavy Drinker” is an ode to early Snarls. With catchy call-backs and a wall of distorted guitars, it encapsulates everything we love about our band with a fresh take. We embraced simplicity and had lots of fun connecting to a more carefree approach to songwriting. Hopefully, all of the energy we put into “Heavy Drinker” translates to everyone who listens. This one really came to life during our studio time in Norway, that’s just the Chris Walla effect. – Chlo White

Baby Bangs

“Baby Bangs” is focused on the point of convergence of introspection and fear. Fresh into a new relationship, I started journaling about the feelings I was experiencing and that eventually developed into the song. “It’s hard to understand why I care about what I look like more than who I am” came easily and genuinely. That was a lyric I didn’t feel like I had to overthink. It was just true. Simultaneously, putting the pieces together as a band felt natural. When I brought the song to Mick’s basement, it wasn’t long before everyone was on the same page. “Baby Bangs” is just that of Snarls’ language. – Chlo White

Moon Tides

I absolutely love the drama of this song. Each melody between the bass, guitar, and vocals was meticulously crafted to dance and intertwine with one another. Then, the chorus “I see you standing there and I’ve never felt more in love / and I’m spiraling into the whitest light for you”, finally rushes in after a lengthy, somber verse about opening your heart to love after having it broken. I don’t see how you can be more dramatic than that. -Chlo White

Driving Faster

One of my favorite things about this song is that Riley and I wrote and completed it together within a couple hours. We were nineteen and twenty with huge dreams of doing what we have worked so hard to be doing now. “Driving Faster” is about defining exactly what it is that you want and then attacking it. We definitely have done that, as well as gained some much needed experience under our belt. I also love how this song sticks out on the record being the only acoustic track, and the first on the B side. “Driving Faster” is like a spell, as I can only hope it sets the tone for the future of our career after dropping our sophomore album, “With Love,”. -Chlo White

Wishing Bones

This one, as dramatic as it is to the point, is nearly my perfect love song. We had to lightly wrestle with this tune melodically, but it was just so easy once Chris got ahold of it. The lyrics immediately begin to pour a very crucial ingredient, a confession, onto the listener in the very first verse. “I’ll wait for you like darkness waits on the moon / and I’ll light every path that you tread if you ask.” This is the perfect song to stick in a playlist to your partner and say “I love you” without actually saying it. -Chlo White

Star Power

The biggest appeal to us about this song was how much of a power house it became. “Star Power” is a song that feels like you’re just thrown into it, and by the time you understand where you are, it’s over. Snarls is very familiar with being raw and emotional, but the movement of this song helped it really seem more like a shout than something melodic. Every section of the track contains a charm woven into it by Chris that really helped to ground the otherwise rapid feel. Even Chris himself said that this may have been his favorite off the album, and we agree that it’s really special. -Riley Hall

Sugar Rush

One of my favorite songs on the record, “Sugar Rush” truly encapsulates everything I love about playing in Snarls. This song takes you to so many places – at one moment you’re feeling bad ass and sexy, at another you’re vulnerable, you float in a dream world for a bit, and then you’re headbanging. This was my favorite song to write on guitar, and I really love how all the different melodic parts came together to create a sound that’s heavy but ethereal at times. This song is a massive representation of how much we have grown up as a band and where we are headed. -Mick Martinez

Ur Song / Lovers of Valdaro

This song is one that we are very proud of, and it really pushed the boundaries of what we once thought we were capable of. “Ur Song / Lovers Of Valdaro” originally started as two separate song ideas, but the repetitive melody heard in the outro was so impactful as a meditation that we decided we needed to keep that part as a long instrumental jam. The first half of the song came together so beautifully as a closer, and adding this extended outro to close out the album just felt right. Snarls doesn’t take many opportunities to set the vocals aside and just focus purely on the instruments, so it was really special to us to build this. Working on this song in the studio with Chris Walla and drummer Mike Davis really took it to the next level, our vision was finally truly captured with their contributions. We hope the listener can hear this song in headphones with their eyes closed, and just forget everything else for 8 minutes. -Mick Martinez

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:: stream/purchase with love, here ::
:: connect with snarls here ::

— — — —

With Love, - Snarls

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With Love,

an album by Snarls



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