The Snuts @ O2 Institute, 16 September 2019
Originating from Whitburn, West Lothian, The Snuts are on their way to conquer the world with a solid fan base and energetic indie rock ‘n’ roll anthems. The band is composed of Jack Cochrane, Joe McGillveray, Callum Wilson and Jordan McKay, four friends who grew up making music together. The fact that they haven’t even released an album yet but they are selling out big venues all over the country and playing established festivals such as Y NOT, TRMSMT, Kendall Calling, Victorious and of course Reading and Leeds just accentuates the hard work they put into their music and their inevitable bright future.
The sold out venue was filled with people of almost all ages who came to witness the magic of one of the hottest bands from Scotland at the moment. Debut single ‘All Your friends’ made everyone go wild from the first note. Their sound reminds me of Kings of Leon and Arctic Monkeys, but the powerful raw vocals and meaningful catchy lyrics combined with infectious riffs and frantic drums set the four-piece apart and make justice for their unbelievable rise.
Continuing with the nostalgic ‘Glasgow’, their debut record from 2016, a sea of hands raised in the air as the excited crowd sang along every word of the song. Scotland might be far from Birmingham, but the way Cochrane sang made it feel very close to everyone’s soul.
The venue was bursting with energy and it only kept intensifying with ‘Seasons’ and ‘Maybe California’. The latest song has just been released earlier this month but the loyal fans made sure to learn it word by word.
All through the night, friendly and bouncy mosh pits kicked off as the crowd couldn’t get more excited and a few tried to get on their friends’ shoulders but for safety reasons they had to get back down. Following the electrifying indie anthem ‘Manhattan Project’, lead singer and guitarist Jack Cochrane was left alone on the stage for an acoustic delight. His distinct vocals became moodier and the atmosphere was a bit more chilled for this one.
Between every song front man Cochrane talked with his strong Scottish accent to the audience, maintaining his already-solid connection with the fans, who kept giggling when they couldn’t really understand what the artist was saying (which didn’t come as a surprise as he said a couple of times “I don’t even know if you can understand a word I say”).
Two more highlights were ‘What’s Going On?’ and ‘Summertime’, during which the crowd didn’t waste any second to rest or even breathe as everyone kept jumping up and down and singing along as loud as they could.
With only a bunch of singles and demos released and only two years since their first headline show. The progress of this band makes their success astounding. Their debut album is in the works and was recorded in New York, but for now, their crowd pleaser live performances certainly suggest an unstoppable rise to the top. Everything is happening very quickly for the young band but they showed gentle humbleness and gratitude every time looking at each other with glances and smiles during their songs, probably thinking of how much they’ve achieved so far.
The hectic frenzy with its unstoppable jumping unfortunately came to an end but the beloved band is coming back to Birmingham in November to support Lewis Capaldi they will be great.
Set list:
All your friends
Glasgow
Seasons
Maybe California —latest release
Boardwalk
Matador
Manhattan Project
Acoustic
Fatboy Slim
Don’t Forget It (punk)
What’s Going On?
Summertime
Sing For Your Supper
Review and Photos: Andra Tudoran