The Hip Snacks - Out On A Limb

Bitrate:320K/s

Year:2026
Time:43:34 
Size:100,2 MB 
Label:Zora Blue Records 
Styles:Blues/Rock/Mix 
Art:Front 

Tracks Listing:
 1. Feels Like (Blue Sky) - 3:10
 2. Dessert Love - 4:09
 3. Easy - 4:32
 4. When You're Around - 5:15
 5. If Only - 4:21
 6. Can't Without You - 4:37
 7. Out On A Limb - 3:15
 8. Never Getting Back - 5:02
 9. Footsteps - 4:07
10. Counting On You - 5:03

On April 24th, Denver six-piece The Hip Snacks released their second album, Out on a Limb. At just under 45 minutes divided between 10 tracks, the record is short and sweet, and avoids overstaying its welcome (which can sometimes happen with bands on the jammier side). This ain’t no sophomore slump, friends. But it might not exactly be blues rock, either. Out on a Limb is the most progressive-feeling album I’ve yet covered here at Blues Rock Review. The Hip Snacks are a skilled, cohesive soul-jam band with blues, pop, jazz, and rock sounds in the DNA of their structure. It’s the most ninth chords I think I’ve heard on an album for a while, refreshing and tonally compelling. The band is made up of singer Kara Durante, bassist Ben Suarez, guitarists Felipe Cantuaria and Ricky Feria, drummer Dylan French, and keyboardist Adam Schini. You might expect a six-piece to sound a bit busy or crowded, but they don’t at all! The soundscape is blended here very well, cohesion and groove prioritized, while every player gets a moment or two to really shine. I especially noted on several occasions the stellar keys work from Schini and the smooth soulful bluesy tones of Durante. In fact, it’s the keys and vocals that keep the album rooted in blues tones. The Hip Snacks’ particular style on Out on a Limb lends them a proggy feeling, even if they don’t use the complex trappings of progressive rock (rare time signatures and the like). So if they aren’t exactly blues rockers on this record (though they are adjacent and clearly have those chops when they want them), what are they here? Out on a Limb sounds like a blending of the epic scale and hopeful harmonies of chill prog acts like Moon Safari, married to Emma Bunton (Baby Spice)’s solo work. It’s low intensity (until it isn’t), fun, interesting, and simply good.
The record is never so good as it is in the opening two tracks, “Feels Like (Blue Sky)” and “Dessert Love.” The first track is funk-infused poppy fun that deftly shows off the hooking vocal harmonies and briefly dips into harder edge blues rock in the middle. Perfect opener. The second track feels more ‘70s psychedelic, groovy like a Marvin Gaye tune. The bluesiest tracks on the record are in the middle: track five, “If Only,” track seven, “Out on a Limb,” with track nine, “Footsteps,” also doing some blues lifting. As mentioned above, it’s Durante’s soul singing and Schini’s keys work (organ tones) that really mark these tunes as blues. A key note: only once of the record does Durante’s voice really get intense and belt-y, for one section of “Out on a Limb.” She’s very restrained for the rest of the record, and if I had one gripe, it’d be that I’d love to hear her get a little louder and more intense more often on the record. The final track, “Counting on You,” also stands out. After a slower building intro that feels grand and epic and hopeful (listening felt a bit like seeing an aerial shot of Middle-Earth), the song grooves the album out on an especially sweet note. Out on a Limb is great. There are moments I wish the vocals were a little higher in the mix or more aggressive, but it’s at best a tertiary note. The album isn’t exactly blues rock, but there’s enough blues rock in the soup to make it well worth a listen for our readership. I look forward to hearing more from The Hip Snacks, and I plan to see them live the first chance I get.

Out On A Limb

MF

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