Reviewing a punk album can be a tricky job, from the outside, punk can seem constrained and limited in its scope, there are key ingredients that are required to keep it from straying into metal or heavy rock. Energetic drums, heavily-distorted guitar, thumping bass (which can often have a trebly tone to combat the bass-heavy drums and low guitar), throaty vocalist and, most importantly, the attitude.
Snuff’s latest offering won’t offer anything particularly new to the pot but what it does is stay true to the original recipe while turning things up a notch in terms of song writing and arrangements. You get the blistering drum patterns, the thunderous guitar riffs and the underpinning bass pounding along in the background, but you also get the melodic vocal lines and the odd knowing wink.
The album is criminally short at only six tracks, I could have happily stayed for at least double, but what is on offer is powerful, exciting and fun. The second half of the album spreads its wings a little more and ventures into a gruff reggae as a sweet opener to ‘The Bells of Hell go Ting-a-Ling-a-Ling’ which, with the instantly likeable and annoyingly catchy ‘King of the Wild Frontier’ will appeal to fans of Ian Drury and The Blockheads in it’s vocal performance and nod to the ‘cheeky Cockney’.
If I was being picky I would argue that the vocal sits a little too low behind the drums and guitar on the opening two tracks but this isn’t music for people of the picky persuasions, this is full throttle, hold on to your hats, foot down, hands in the air stuff and will undoubtedly find a home in anyone punk collection.
Standout track is ‘Poetic nonsense’, a superb example of escapism in three minutes. The album was released way back in May 2020, but give it a search because it’s a blinding little package of brilliance.
