More about: the snuts

Scotland and fantastic debut indie albums are two things that go hand in hand of late: think the likes of Vistas with Everything Changes in the End, The Ninth Wave with Infancy and Baby Strange with Want It Need It. The Snuts are not ones to shy away from the challenge, showing their own hand with debut LP release W.L.. Filled to the brim with a cacophony of genre-blending tracks, earworm hooks and uplifting vocal melodies, W.L., though a little bloated, is a commendable effort for a first release from the rising stars. 

The aim of this album is unclear. It can’t seem to decide between being a soaring pop record with back-to-back anthems or if it wants to be a sombre and meaningful album, so it decides to cram in a bit of both spanning over 17 tracks. The album is self-described as “a collection of milestones and melodies that time stamp a dream we had becoming a reality” – and that’s what it feels like, a collection of songs thoughtlessly chucked together. Having said that, the songs on this record are fantastic. 

Hits like ‘No Place I’d Rather Go’ and ‘Maybe California’ are fun, bright and catchy. The Snuts have a talent for writing a tune that will follow you wherever you go, it’s no surprise they’re rising up the ranks and rising fast. And the more mellow stylings of songs like ‘Top Deck’, ‘Boardwalk’ and ‘Glasgow’ display a transparency and introspective side to the boys that also wprls. The album almost feels like a work of two parts, split into the aforementioned fun songs and the more personal and endearing ones. Upon listening to the record two things become clear: The Snuts don’t want to be pigeonholed and they know what it takes to make every song of theirs impactful – even the not-so-good tracks stand out. 

Speaking of not-so-good tracks, there are two that I couldn’t forgive myself for not mentioning.  ‘Somebody Loves You’ is painfully cringe and sounds like it belongs with Ed Sheeran and Jason Mraz: it’s almost too pop to be taken seriously. Secondly, ‘Don’t Forget It (Punk)’ is not one to be taken seriously either. I’m not sure if it’s trying to be punk with the distorted vocals, overdriven guitars and occasional swear word chucked in for good measure but it’s not even slightly convincing and feels like a sore thumb  sticking out on an otherwise good album. 

All-in-all The Snuts show promise with W.L. but the 17-track album felt almost too bloated to be a cohesive album. There are a lot of banging songs here though...so for another Scottish indie band, the future looks very bright indeed.

W.L. is out now.

More about: the snuts