After releasing their third studio album, Millennials, earlier this year, indie rock band The Snuts embarked on their UK tour. We caught up with them as they landed in Nottingham's iconic Rock City on Monday night...
The Snuts set the tone of the night by opening up with the anthemic Millionaires, which tells of how love trumps all before going into electric banger, Seasons, full of grit, angst and hope about looking to the future and wondering what shape it may take. It may have been a Monday night, but The Snuts (Jack Cochrane on vocals and guitar, Joe McGilveray on guitar, Callum ‘29’ Wilson on bass and Jordon MacKay on drums) made it feel like a Friday with their party-anytime-anywhere energy.
It was a packed show with several songs performed across the band's discography including feel good favourite, Dreams, a song that feels like hope that we all cling onto as a life raft through the rocky waters that sometimes plague our reality which saw phone torches in the air and people on shoulders, while satirical guitar riff and gritty indie anthem Burn the Empire was belted back to Jack and the boys from mosh pits.
The Snuts stayed true to their mission of being a fan-oriented band by not only by playing the fan favourites, including Always, Elephants and Maybe California, but by offering an opportunity for everyone to connect.
“I don't care if you think you're too cool to do this, I don’t care who you’re here with whether it be a parent, a friend, a lover. Dance with them, we don't get many nights like these; we should probably get more. This song is called Somebody Loves You," Jack says before the harmonic, optimistic opening we all know begins to play. There are arms round shoulders swaying, hands held high and intertwined as people begin to dance, everyone remaining in the moment and finding it magical.
Heralded as "Hometown Heroes of West Lothian", Jack takes a moment to discuss the trials it takes to make a name for yourself in the modern music industry, mentioning a recent unsuccessful legal battle and both the challenge and steel strength that comes with grass roots music.
Formed when they were still in school it is clear that the faith the band-mates had in one another that got them to where they are now and will keep them soaring as chart toppers.
“We had been best mates doing music for ten years not really getting anywhere, we were ready to give up and Joel said lets try and write one more song and if its a good one we’ll keep going. Well, the song we wrote that day went to number one! So just keep going, don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t" - so goes Jack's introduction to Top Deck.
Glasgow is the penultimate banger of the night, its simmering rhythm settling the crowd, encouraging them to savour that pent-up energy for the big break into chorus. Propelling, passionate and pace-setting, the song hits the ground running with its riffs and lyrical direction, as seen in the constant sway of the crowd during the big chorus pushes.
Most love songs amplify the extravagance of romance - the movie type love many of us strive for but struggle to replicate - which is why Gloria is such a fan favourite. It's a symphony of simplicity, falling in love as you do the weekly shop, finding love in the madness of mundanity. From mosh pits to people on shoulders swaying with their torch-lights out, this song really captures all that love should be: unity.
The Snuts are renowned for their full festival fields. Here, between strangers on a particularly cold December night, through mosh pits, croaky voices from belting all the words back, and arms in the air or around friends, the vibe of those summer fields lives on.
The Snuts performed at Rock City on 2nd December 2024. Support came from Siobhan Winifred.
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