by HQ
Straight out of New Orleans and armed with enough energy to power a Warped Tour stage for 72 hours, Neutral Snap is pop punk’s latest powerhouse — and they’re not here to play it safe. With their new EP I Hardly Know Her, the band takes everything we love about early 2000s pop punk — shout-along choruses, angst-filled verses, chaotic breakdowns — and gives it a modern jolt of life. Produced by Rob Freeman (Hidden in Plain View) and featuring co-writing credits from Tom Denney (A Day to Remember) and Fred Mascherino (Taking Back Sunday, The Color Fred), the EP feels like a collision of nostalgia and raw, present-day emotion.
Tracks like “Danny ACOG”, “Waltz”, and “Pat Your Own Back” each tackle different shades of modern heartbreak and emotional confusion, delivered with punchy rhythms, infectious melodies, and the band’s trademark “2005 Gusher’s commercial” energy. It’s a blend of fun and fury that perfectly captures where Neutral Snap is right now: caught between reckless youth and emotional maturity — and refusing to pick a side.
We caught up with the band to talk collaboration, chaos, and carving their name into the next chapter of pop punk history.
<h3>New Orleans didn’t shape our “sound” so to speak, but it really shaped our musicianship. The city is full of world class musicians and we constantly strived to be as good as the cats around us! New Orleans is a music city! The best in the world </h3>
How did Neutral Snap originally come together — and how did the New Orleans scene shape your early sound?
Jp (guitar) was the first kid I (Josh!(singer)) met in high school in 2009. We were in a bunch of classes together, became friends, started the band, and then found out we were 3rd cousins! We haven’t stopped since then!
The New Orleans scene for us shaped a few things: there’s not a lot of pop punk down here, so we drew a lot of inspiration from New Orleans funk bands like Flowtribe who really captured the energy of their performances. New Orleans didn’t shape our “sound” so to speak, but it really shaped our musicianship. The city is full of world class musicians and we constantly strived to be as good as the cats around us! New Orleans is a music city! The best in the world
Your energy has been described as “a 2005 Gusher’s commercial” — how do you channel that intensity into your music?
We live with intensity! We have always been very outgoing guys and we are obsessed with the energy we bring on stage. It’s, like, our favorite part of performing. The gushers commercial I’m referring to has the kids eating the gushers and their heads explode with flavor, and I have always tried to recreate that feeling on stage
What inspired the title I Hardly Know Her for the new EP?
It’s a word play, that’s all I can really say about it without giving too much away :)
“Danny ACOG” was co-written with Tom Denney. How did that collaboration come about, and what did he bring to the table?
Our manager introduced us to Tom, and we ended up booking a couple days at his home studio to knock out some bangers. We showed up to his house and immediately was greeted by by his awesome cats. He actually had most of the Danny ACOG instrumentals laid down, and we started cutting and chipping away at the parts until the music was how we wanted it to be. Then we laid the vocals on top when it was all done! Tom was awesome at giving us space to really make this song ours!
There’s a lot of emotion packed into “Waltz.” What’s the story behind that song?
“Waltz” was a combination of emotions. I had just had a situationship that sort of pulled the rug out from underneath me. It took me a lot of processing and support to bring myself out of the funk I was in, and this song helped so much! I make not so subtle references to old memories, and my favorite line is “those faces feel like ghosts I don’t remember them at all.” I remember stumbling upon an old pic and barely recognizing the person I was in the photo.
How was it working with Fred Mascherino on that track? Did his history with bands like Taking Back Sunday shape the final sound?
Fred is such a beast. We ended up setting up camp in his basement to put the waltz structure together, and it was crazy to be writing music next to a TBS gold record. Fred was very welcoming to our ideas, and never overtook the writing process. The final sound really came out when we were in the studio with Rob Freeman! He really put some sauce on that one.
“Pat Your Own Back” feels like a full-blown breakup anthem. How personal was writing that song for you guys?
Very. We actually wrote the entirety of it in the studio with Rob. I think we all took turns shedding a tear or two during the producing of it. It carried so much weight and emotions from the moment it was laid down. We knew we had something special with this one.
This EP marks the first time you’ve collaborated with other artists. How did it change your creative process?
It changed it so much! I used to be really weird about writing with other people, but we’ve been so fortunate that our collaborators meshed with us SO well. It really allowed me to be more open and creative with others, and even kind of eased the burden of songwriting within the band itself. We’ve been together for a long time, and at the time we were kind of running into walls with the songs we wanted to write. These collaborators helped up get over that hurdle and create something super cool.
Pop punk is having a major revival — what do you think is driving this resurgence, and where do you see yourselves within it?
We are in it, man! I love that this music is coming back into the mainstream. It’s been super inspiring watching these pop punk bands get the attention they deserve. People are looking back to simpler times with this music, and with the state of the world right now, who can blame them? I feel very lucky for the sliver of success that neutral snap has, and it means the world to me that our songs mean something to people!
The EP blends fun, humor, and emotional weight. How do you balance being both chaotic and vulnerable in your writing?
Honestly if you met me in person I feel like you’d be like “yeah actually that tracks.” I try to be as authentic as I can with our writing, without being too “on the nose” if that makes any sense. I’ve always been a fan of tongue-in-cheek lyrics and word play/phrases that make people double take. When we started this project specifically, I wanted to bring out as much of our personality as we could, and I think we nailed it
What’s one moment in the studio during this project that you’ll never forget?
Audio pilot studios was the best production experience I’ve ever been a part of. I loved being able to whack golfballs in Rob’s yard, and really take in upstate New Jersey! Every day we got to work at a really cool pace, and Rob was an incredible part of the whole journey for this project. Tracking the final vocal take for Pat Your Own Back was one of the most memorable and emotional moments in the studio. We had been there for 9 days at that point. We were exhausted both mentally and physically, and I really left everything in that vocal booth. Those takes felt surreal, it felt like we captured lightning in a bottle.
What can fans expect from Neutral Snap over the next year — more music, tours, chaos?
We are putting the pedal to the metal this year! We have a bunch of shows booked and more on the way! We have content coming out of our ears, and we are just ready to take the next step, man. Honestly I’m not sure what to expect, but you definitely should expect us. We aren’t going anywhere.