Review / 200 Words Or Less
These Arms are Snakes / Tropics
Split

We-Be (2008) Michael

These Arms are Snakes / Tropics – Split cover artwork
These Arms are Snakes / Tropics – Split — We-Be, 2008

Here we have another limited edition split 7", this one that was issued in support of These Arms are Snakes and Tropics European tour together. You get one exclusive track from each artist.

These Arms are Snakes offer up "Meet Your Major," which is very much in tune with the band's latest full-length offering, Tail Swallower and Dove. You get driving rhythms and thick basslines. The guitars are angular and compliment the rhythm secion well. And of course there are Steve Snere's typical yelled shouts to match the coarseness of the music. All in all, it's what we've come to expect from the post-hardcore outfit.

Tropics, on the other hand, are new to me. Hailing from the U.K., this four-piece delivers "Future Gets Tense," a post-punk inspired rock number that had me recalling At the Drive-In. The guitars had a bit of a Swami-esque thing going on too. Pretty solid stuff.

A nice slab of wax from one of my favorite bands going and something new from a band I'd yet to encounter. Limited to only 500 copies, if you're a fan of either group I suggest grabbing a copy while they are still available.

8.0 / 10Michael • April 3, 2009

These Arms are Snakes / Tropics – Split cover artwork
These Arms are Snakes / Tropics – Split — We-Be, 2008

Recently-posted album reviews

Citric Dummies

Split With Turnstile
Feel It Records (2025)

Citric Dummies might be the band I saw live the most often in 2025, yet I put off a thorough review of their latest LP until the calendar turned to 2026. Anyway, Split With Turnstile, besides having a great title, continues the band's garage-punk sound that draws from a deep array of influences from eggpunk to '80s hardcore while mostly … Read more

Pageant Mum

Finis Amoris Est
Red Tape Music (2026)

Breakup records usually announce themselves with a band. There is betrayal, shouting, and doors slamming shut. Finis Amoris Est, the new EP from UK post-hardcore outfit Pageant Mum, takes a different route. It’s a record about what happens after the blowup, when the noise dies down and you’re left alone with the quieter, harder questions. Across these four tracks, the … Read more

Pat Todd & The Rankoutsiders

After The Dolls
Heavy Medication Records (2026)

Pat Todd is a roots rock and roll incarnate — a relentless road dog, grinding it out night after night with his hot-as-buckshot band, The Rankoutsiders. His shows are raw, electric, and lived-in, a testament to decades on the road. With a career spanning over forty years, Todd has earned a reputation as one of the hardest-working men in the … Read more