“Everything sort of lined up, but I don’t believe in coincidences.” Chlo White could be talking about any of the several key moments in her musical history: meeting best friend and bassist Riley Hall on the first day at a new school while they both wore the same pair of obscure Vans, being soon introduced to guitarist Mick Martinez that same week, and then finding drummer Max floating around their garage practice space. That might’ve been the easiest part of the puzzle. He’s Mick’s brother.


Snarls, the Columbus band built from these cosmic connections, is an exercise in manifestation. After their debut album Burst captured an early audience with its glittering, wide-eyed take on indie pop, the band regrouped to enter the cavernous wilderness of their next phase.


What About Flowers?, Snarls’ Chris Walla-produced EP, pulses with the rhythm of the Pacific Northwest. It’s a release that shines in solitude and asks questions of absences: the same winning formula that’s gripped the region for decades. The floating understanding of wanting to be together and missing the things that make one whole pervades much of Flowers?, the second act of Snarls’ identity play.


- James Cassar