During their long musical partnership, Snyder and Thompson have never discussed their music — or jointly planned anything they played. Twenty-five years ago, this began as a natural way to get to the music as soon as possible, but now has become a kind of superstitious ritual: discussion, judgement, or planning may spoil the magic. Rather than “jamming” or even improvising, they consider their method as a true spontaneous composition. Nick Cain at Opprobrium magazine described Snyder and Thompson’s music as being “propelled by its own individual unique organic energy, of the kind that can only result from raw musical friction between two attuned individuals honestly searching for their own means of expression and communication. Though there is a lot of intense ‘rock’-like motion, it is certainly not ‘rock’; some of the interplay is certainly ‘jazz’-like, but it’s definitely not ‘jazz’; and though it’s obviously improvised, I don’t know that I’d strictly classify it as ‘improv.’ Perhaps it’s historical disorientation on my part, but to me it seems to encompass a number of forms without ever being anything other than itself — a powerful and driven duo.”

"The Rules Of Play" unfolds as a kind of narrative. Its story-like nature is unlike song form in that there is no self reference — it doesn’t repeat itself. The guitar and drums present themselves in the non-traditional relationship of an equal partnership — rather than as melody and rhythm instruments, respectively. Snyder’s MIDI guitar and Thompson’s extensive drum kit carry the weights of melody, rhythm and color equally. The piece ends in a kind of anthem.