Snapped Ankles - Hard Times Furious Dancing (Album Review)
Thursday, 03 April 2025
Written by James Palaczky
Photo: Louise Mason
Snapped Ankles’ ‘Hard Times Furious Dancing’ lives up to its title in every way, shaping up as a pre-apocalyptic dance album that delivers an uppercut to the collective chin of climate change deniers. Packed with addictive beats and sublime energy, it is their most impactful and exciting album yet.
With their fingers firmly on the pulse, the mysterious ghillie-suited band waste no time in stating their intentions. Pay The Rent opens with a cry of, “Turn down the gas, I’m trying to ration / Do the maths and cut back fashion.” The second track, Personal Responsibilities, points an accusing finger at big oil and its role in the climate crisis.
Snapped Ankles feed on anxiety and political fractures, repurposing them as fuel to drive the album’s honest, abrasive, and direct narrative.
Usually known for embracing ambiguity and perplexing metaphors in their music and imagery, here they are driven by furious intent. By looking down the barrel of climate change and refusing to blink, they thrillingly challenge the listener to do the same.
In the past, Snapped Ankles’ eclecticism — dipping their toes into post-punk, electro and more — has been one of their core strengths. But here, they plant their feet firmly in dance territory and it proves to be an ingenious move.
Raoul’s haunting vocals howl over a driving electronic beat, while 摆烂 Bai Lan’s pulsating, pounding bass encapsulates the urgency of the themes. Only the final track, Closely Observed, dials down the intensity. But, in doing so, it offers space for reflection.
Laced with mesmerising beats, heart-racing rhythms, and synth-heavy melodies, with ‘Hard Times Furious Dancing’ Snapped Ankles cement themselves as both a compelling dance act and a countercultural pillar. This is an album as a piece of art — something to be discussed, debated and, as it makes plain from the outset, danced to.
Snapped Ankles Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Fri May 09 2025 - TUNBRIDGE WELLS Forum
Sat May 10 2025 - GUILDFORD Boileroom
Tue May 13 2025 - BRIGHTON Old Market
Wed May 14 2025 - SOUTHAMPTON Papillon
Fri May 16 2025 - COVENTRY Tin
Sat May 17 2025 - MANCHESTER Projekts Skatepark
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