The Snuts find their voice on new album ‘Burn The Empire’
Last year, The Snuts released their debut album, W.L. and became the only British band to secure a number one record with their first offering since Blossoms in 2016. The debut was a collection of tracks they had started creating as teenagers and assembled over numerous years with W.L. charting their progression from boys to men, but the real test is album number two.
The new effort by the West Lothian group is genre-spanning and doesn’t stay in the same place for more than one song. From the start, The Snuts have always experimented with different sonic landscapes and been open to trying new ideas. However, one constant aspect that knits Burn The Empire together is honest, compassionate storytelling.
Writing about yourself and your adventures is one thing, but on Burn The Empire, The Snuts frontman Jack Cochrane has placed a mirror up to society and profoundly raised difficult questions about Britain in 2022. Thankfully, he stays firmly away from cliches with his nuanced method of songwriting and doesn’t claim to have the answers to solve the world’s complex problems.
The album begins with the voice of the late Labour politician, Tony Benn, who is sampled on the titular ‘Burn The Empire’, which gets the album off to a raucous start. In the fiery opener, Cochrane sets out his objective for the record and sings: “And I won’t take a back seat, No fucking way man, there’s no fucking way.”
Meanwhile, on ‘Zuckerpunch’, the group take aim at social media giants who have taken control of us as we increasingly live through our phone screens which have made us collectively lose sight of the truly important things in life compared to the simpler times of playing Snake on a Nokia 3310.
However, it’s on ’13’ when Cochrane’s personable songwriting about the state of things hits home the most. Rather than writing about Silicon Valley or Westminster, it’s a heartbreaking true tale about a friend who tragically fell into a spiral of drug abuse and took somebody else’s life.
The story of ’13’ is common in working-class towns across Britain and, unfortunately, isn’t an anomaly. There’s a nuance to the song, which is refreshing, and instead of painting the muse as evil, it offers a reminder we are all victims of our own life experiences.
Following the tear-inducing ’13’, The Snuts bring some well-needed feel-good energy with the odes to love, ‘Knuckles’ and ‘End Of The Road’ featuring Rachel Chinouriri, which breaks up the album finely.
‘Pigeons In New York’, meanwhile, is an explosive rallying cry for us to all get on the same page and a poignant reminder that there’s more that unites us than divides us. The title came from a conversation with producers Clarence Coffee Jr. and Detonate, who came from drastically different worlds to the Scottish rockers, yet, they see the world similarly. Although ‘Burn The Empire’ sets the stall out for the album, it’s here where The Snuts achieve their objective.
‘Cosmic Electronica’ does precisely what the title suggests and feels more like a Fatboy Slim track than it does a four-piece indie band. It offers a wave of euphoria that showcases The Snuts at their most experimental, and they reap the rewards for their ingenuity.
Meanwhile, on the penultimate track, the Scots change the tone by stripping everything back with ‘Yesterday’, which finds Cochrane alone with an acoustic guitar and his crippling doubts. Things are then turned up on the anger-filled closer, ‘Blah Blah Blah’, which, similarly to ‘Pigeons In New York’, is bursting at the seams to be performed live.
When things are difficult, the easier route for bands is to offer up a source of escapism. While Burn The Empire can be superficially enjoyed on that level, it’s a record designed to challenge and make for an uncomfortable listen, it’s necessary for these complex times.
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