Snake River Conspiracy – Sonic Jihad (2000)

Snake River Conspiracy – Sonic Jihad (2000)

This group is also known, of course, as the SRC.

You might think, from our false memories, that they’re still a band from the 90s…but they’re right back where they started in the new millennium! On the other hand, they’re still a band who’ve only made one album… and who haven’t had the success they deserved.

Unlike 4 Non Blondes, New Radicals or Meja, not everyone knows an SNC hit! Apart from big fans of alternative, gothic or industrial music. It’s a bit like Hepburn (a sort of mix between the Spice Girls and Garbage, basically!) who also made an excellent Pop Rock album that went a bit too unnoticed for my taste.

Unfortunately, most of their songs are no longer available, even on Youtube and Spotify.

Snake River Conspiracy also managed to put a Cure cover and a Smiths cover on the same album. Which is no mean feat, given that the two bands supposedly hate each other. But it’s mainly a problem between their respective singers, Robert Smith and Morrissey, who have always had trouble with each other.
A powerful and beautiful cover of The Cure (Lovesong), a good cover of The Smiths (How Soon Is Now) and 9 original songs… which I listened to over and over for a while! And I keep coming back to it.

Their covers are much more interesting than Tiffany’s, to take just one example!

The song ‘Breed’ was featured in the end credits of the film ‘Valentine’ (2001), which was a great publicity coup and gave the album a boost. This track is part of the album and is even the opening track. On the film’s soundtrack, it ranks fifth.

‘Vulcan’ is also a hit… but it’s ultra aggressive! I wonder if it’s not my favourite track, just like ‘Milk It’ on Nirvana’s ‘In Utero’. I’m not always a fan of ultra-aggressive music, but there are some I really love, like ‘Beautiful People’ and ‘User Friendly’ by Marilyn Manson.

Snake River Conspiracy was criticised for not being able to sing live. But then, Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins received the same kind of remarks. So… sometimes it doesn’t mean much!

The singer’s name is Tobey Torres, also known as Tobey Torres-Doran after her marriage to Mitchell J Doran, with whom she formed the band Mojave Phone Booth. She is known for her ability to switch easily between melodic singing and screaming.

As Mojave Phone Booth, Tobey and Mitchell have released three full-length albums, an EP and four singles. Their albums have featured artists as diverse as Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Lynn Farmer of Meat Beat Manifesto.

If ever, yes, Snake River Conspiracy created and recorded other tracks that are not on the album, such as Dollar At A Time, Dying, Automatic, Coke & Vaseline and Drug Tongue.

To conclude: This album is incredible to me. Its atmospheric density is extraordinary. I really love it. And yet I’m more into Old School Punk, Alternative and Indie Rock, not necessarily Industrial. But SNC is one of my favourite bands in the genre.

In addition, I’d like to come back to the ultra-cool and very successful cover of The Cure’s “Lovesong”. Listen to it, buy it! It’s weird, it’s good, it’s… almost unique.

Does anyone know another band that makes this kind of music? Please answer !!!

After extensive research, I found that Jason Slater, the bassist for Snake River Conspiracy, has worked with Charlie Clouser on some projects. However, I couldn’t find any specific information about a direct collaboration between the two on a Snake River Conspiracy album or project. In other words, I haven’t found any direct link between Charlie Clouser, known for his work with Nine Inch Nails, and Snake River Conspiracy. However, it is possible that they have collaborated in the music industry… or share similar influences, particularly in the industrial and electronic genre.