'You Don't Know What's Coming Next': The Snuts on Album Two and Their Biggest Shows to Date
Monday, 25 April 2022
Written by Simon Ramsay
Photo: @jjjacobcampbell
Rock ‘n’ roll’s graveyard is littered with young bands who suddenly perished after early success went to their heads. Thankfully, The Snuts are unlikely to join all those flash-in-the-pan groups six feet under. The Scottish quartet may have bested a global superstar to land the UK’s number one spot with last year’s debut record ‘W.L’, but they’re a dedicated and ambitious gang of grafters who won’t be taking their feet off the pedal any time soon.
Last year was a unique one for Jack Cochrane (vocals, guitar), Joe McGillveray (guitar), Callum '29' Wilson (bass) and Jordan 'Joko' Mackay (drums). Releasing your first LP during a global pandemic, and therefore being unable to promote the album and celebrate in appropriate fashion, isn’t exactly a well trodden path.
Not that such tricky circumstances have halted their momentum. Once restrictions lifted the foursome hit the road with a vengeance and began knuckling down on the writing and recording of a follow up record they hope will arrive later this year.
Working with producers Detonate and Coffee, the singles Burn The Empire and Zuckerpunch have offered a strong early taste of what’s to come. Mature and assured without losing their feisty youthful spirit, both tracks bear the mark of a forward-thinking group who’ve added a thought-provoking socio-political edge to their eclectic, indie-rock anthemics.
With the group about to play the largest shows of their blossoming career, we spoke to massive Rangers fan ‘Joko’ about following up that smash debut and what fans can expect from album number two.
Let’s revisit last year when your debut album held off strong competition from Demi Lovato to hit the number one spot. Where were you when you found out and how did you spend the rest of that particular day?
We found out slightly earlier, before the charts came out, and it was the phone call I was waiting for all day. I was up since 5am and that was all I was thinking about, because it was very close between us and Demi at the time. When the phone call came through I was in my spare room and it was early afternoon-ish. I was expecting the worst. Not that number two’s bad, but once you’re in the position for it you really want it. I found out and was jumping around the house like a maniac, like I’d just won my first football trophy all over again. It was very good but just quiet celebrations because of Covid and lockdown. So quiet Zoom parties. We’ve definitely made up for it since then, 100%.
I imagine you didn’t all feel like you’d reached any kind of pinnacle and it just reinforced the belief that you need to put the hours in to both attain and sustain such success?
I can remember us all saying, ‘The hard work starts now.’ It’s like putting yourself on a pedestal, ‘Look, here we are, we can do this.’ Playing live shows, people expect a number one live show. But we worked hard for it. We were in a rehearsal room in the studios seven days a week, for probably three years, before we did that. We got signed by Parlophone and then the pandemic hit. So that was kind of a down moment, and then it was back to an up moment, and then another down moment. We’ve worked hard and we’re still doing the same. It’s always ‘What can we do next? What’s the next big step?’
Which brings us on to what’s known as ‘the difficult second album.’
We’ve been in the studio recording and it feels great. Everything’s going well. We’ve had success in our sessions and we’re happy with the music we’re writing, trying to keep things fresh. There should be something on there that everybody can enjoy. As far as your ‘second album’ cliché, I don’t get it. I think it’s just a bit of folklore. It’s definitely not something we’ve thought about.
Because your debut was an eclectic affair, do you think you’ve primed people for what comes next so it’s not a shock when you evolve?
I’m not sure. Shock value can definitely be a thing that works in your advantage. It depends on the listeners and what they connect with. But we’re writing about things we feel are important, to use what we’ve got to get the message we believe in out there. Some people might resonate with the message, some might resonate with a guitar riff or bounce with a drum beat. It’s just about getting all of them in a collective gathering and making them available for everybody.
Let’s discuss the two new songs you’ve released so far. You take social media to task on Zuckerpunch. What have been the best and worst things about those platforms for your band?
For any business around the world, it’s very difficult to survive without social media. We were putting the message out there that social media can kill your drive. It’s something you end up caring about more than, maybe, a goal you’ve got. People sometimes feel personally attacked by the way people speak to them on social media. We wanted to make sure that was something everybody knew that we knew about. And also that, hands up, we use it too. I know we’re saying it’s bad but, at the end of the day, everybody needs to use it. It’s one of those tricky things. Everybody’s got a different view on it mate, but that was the message through Zuckerpunch. To go back to the days when we only had games like Snake on our phone, but we also know we’d be stuck without it at some points.
Were you concerned that getting more socio-political, like on Burn The Empire, might put people off? Or was it a case of, if you don’t express what you’re feeling, that would be worse than ruffling a few feathers?
Well, yeah, you need to be true to yourself. But people can interpret Burn The Empire as whatever they want it to be. If it’s something they’re really unhappy with, their job or just a situation they’re in. A lot of people were angry during the pandemic and rightly so, for a lot of reasons we don’t need to run though again because it will make the two of us very unhappy. I mean, people were stuck in their house, and then obviously all the stuff came out about parties and gatherings when people weren’t allowed to attend funerals. The story kind of speaks for itself doesn’t it?
Were you all in agreement to move away from the autobiographical writing style of ‘W.L’ to do something more politically charged?
When we were working in the studio we left everything as an open book. We had lengthy conversations about concepts and what we thought was important for different people, different races, different religions. What’s important to all of us, put together in one big basket. It was a big conversation that helped everybody understand everybody else a wee bit better and then write music together. I wouldn’t say everything is in that direction. There’s definitely bits and bobs in there. I would just say that you don’t know what’s coming next with The Snuts and that’s our trade secret. That’s how we like to keep it.
You’re a young band who’ve grown up as part of the streaming generation. So, are you more concerned with crafting a great old school album that works as a whole listening experience, or is it more important to make strong individual tracks to satisfy those who love to stream?
For me it should take you on a journey from start to finish that leaves you guessing what we’re talking about. Leaves your mind to wander. It’s up to interpretation, in terms of what you think we’re writing about. But it should all be a body of art, instead of singles. Of course, individual tracks are important to get your message out there but, as a whole, it should be a collective work. What order your tracks go in, for an album, is also a big thing. For old school listeners who are listening from the very start to the very end, you need to make sure that’s an experience.
You’re playing some of your biggest UK headline shows to date this month. Have you got any special surprises lined up, things you might not have done in the past?
I know they’re the biggest headlines, but they’re also gonna be the biggest and flashiest, production wise. I mean, I would buy a ticket to my own show if I could. We’ve not had the opportunity to play Zuckerpunch live yet, so it’s gonna be a new track to hear. Burn The Empire’s been in the set for a little bit, There might be another couple of surprises up the sleeve that will maybe, possibly, feature. You’ll need to buy a ticket to find out.
You’ll be supporting Kings Of Leon soon too.
That’s a big one for us, man. We grew up listening to Kings Of Leon. ‘Only By The Night’ came out when I was in the second or third year at school. I was just a pup. That album was definitely a very big influence on me when I was younger. Sex On Fire was probably the biggest tune in the world at the time and you still hear it on the radio today. That’s gonna be a good experience and I’m really looking forward to that one. It’s gonna be awesome.
Finally, what are your long term ambitions? Are we talking arenas or maybe even stadiums?
Live-wise, we’ve just got to keep moving on. We’ve got a lot of touring to do this year. Once this April run is finished it’s festival season. So we’re gonna be busy. Obviously our ambitions are high and we want to go to the very, very top. We’ll want to be in stadiums at some point, but we’ve just gonna keep going along one step at a time. One game at a time, one gig at a time.
The Snuts Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Wed April 27 2022 - MANCHESTER Manchester Academy
Thu April 28 2022 - NEWCASTLE Northumbria University SU
Sat April 30 2022 - LONDON O2 Academy Brixton
We don't run any advertising! Our editorial content is solely funded by lovely people like yourself using Stereoboard's listings when buying tickets for live events. To keep supporting us, next time you're looking for concert, festival, sport or theatre tickets, please search for "Stereoboard". It costs you nothing, you may find a better price than the usual outlets, and save yourself from waiting in an endless queue on Friday mornings as we list ALL available sellers!
