As one navigates their local music scene, whether as a fan, concertgoer, photographer, or fellow musician, it becomes easier to find your niche in a pocketed area of the scene, whether it’s pop punk, alternative, hardcore, shoegaze, folk, or R&B. Singer-songwriter Isabella Snow doesn’t fall into any of these single categories. Instead, she, along with her backing band, has ventured out to create a unique sound that double dips into several genres, ranging from folk to hard rock to jazz. Starting off as a solo act as early as 2019, when her first single “Hungry Heart” was released on Spotify in January, followed by her debut EP Mystic in August, Isabella slowly moved from acoustic melodies to soft rock before recruiting a full band and transitioning to a satisfying mix of pop, jazz, and hard rock, with her ukelele in tow throughout her musical journey.
Her “company” consists of her husband and long-time collaborator Noah Nichols on bass, Matthew Morgan on guitar, Derek Briones on drums, and Erik Martinez on trumpet. The band was rounded out by early summer 2021, and they would go on to perform at various nightclubs, festivals, and pop-up events around the Chicagoland area. They have since taken up a residency at Chicago’s Lakeview establishment McGee’s Tavern, a sports bar doubling as a small music venue seated just half a block away from DePaul University’s student center. Isabella and her company perform a two-hour set every second Wednesday of the month.
On June 30th, Isabella Snow released her second EP, Thorns, her first with a full band; on the same day, she and her crew would also play their EP release show at the same Lakeview tavern. The album cover presents Isabella in front of a white rose bush, holding rusty shears and decked out in gardening attire, covered in dirt and blood with cuts and scrapes up and down her body yet she adorns a bright smile similar to that of a pin-up girl. From the start, Isabella knew what she wanted the overall theme of her next album to be. Taken from her Instagram, the songs on Thorns “are about finding the beauty, inner strength, and the power to speak one’s mind within the obstacles. Sure, we’ve been through it, but we’d rather ask–how can we grow from it?”
The six-track EP proves to be a powerful continuation of Isabella Snow’s message of mystic femininity, strong-willed independence, and no-holds-barred female empowerment. The EP’s first track “Go Mingle” is a fun, strong start to the six-song album and details the perils of online dating. The song’s hard-hitting rhythm is strengthened by Isabella’s sassy lyrics and high-range vocals, along with the band’s punk-adjacent instrumentation rooted in the style of ‘90s alternative. However, one of the EP’s standout songs proves to be the second song, “Trust Me.” Kicking off with a moody trumpet solo by Erik Martinez, the song immediately delves into a fast-paced scene of a strong-willed narrator and a narcissistic subject, backed by a beat that could easily be part of a rock opera. As Isabella belts out the chorus line, “Trust me, I can do it alone ‘cause I don’t trust you when I’m on my own,” the track proves to be one of the album’s best through its blending of jazz, blues, and alternative rock. Meanwhile, the album’s third track “Who Am I to You?” continues down the “rock opera” path with its narrative of an enigmatic relationship and bluesy instrumentation.
Immediately following is the much more upbeat title track that delves deeper into Isabella’s primary message of rising above adversity. Yet another standout, “Thorns” is an inspiring tune with a dance-worthy rhythm and of course, more of Erik’s trumpet. Keeping pace with the upbeat tone of the latter half of the album, the EP continues with the lead single “7-11 Beanie,” which features a slight deviation in the overall tone of the album. This time, Isabella sings of embracing her local thrift stores and androgynous style of fashion (“I get a lot for very little, someone else’s former clothes / Take what I like from every section, never cared for gender roles”), while turning her nose at the entitled rich kids that every generation has dealt with in one form or another. While it’s not a unique perspective to rebel against societal norms, Isabella focuses on an aspect of those norms that many have struggled with as children, teens, and young adults but have rarely been able to talk about in detail. Finally, the album closes with “Type to Outgrow,” the third standout of the album with a self-explanatory theme: outgrowing your current space, including outgrowing a relationship. It’s once again an empowering track strengthened by Isabella’s unwavering vocals. A strong sophomore effort produced by an unfettered woman with a strengthening band, Thorns has proven to be Isabella Snow’s best release yet, and the Chicago alternative scene has gained another complementary member.
