Anthemic and relatable, conveying real feeling in a catchy, 30-minute package.
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Scottish indie band The Snuts enjoyed a rapid ascent before the pandemic, coming out of it with two studio albums. Now, they’ve ditched their record label and started their own, owing to their vision drifting apart from their label. That vision has been imagined in Millennials, their third album, and it’s quite something. It’s both anthemic and relatable, conveying real feeling in a catchy, 30-minute package.
In some ways, Millennials is a conventional album. Each song has a clear beginning, middle and end. In other ways, it’s anything but. Working with close friends, you can tell the Scottish fourpiece are right at home here. The album has everything, from the whirlwind that is ‘Yoyo’ to the more reflective ‘Circles’, with topics ranging from love to the freedom of adulthood. It’s full of irresistible guitar hooks and basslines, with every song having its own little story.
The album starts as it means to go on with the anthemic and fast-paced ‘Gloria’. This is about the enjoyment found in everyday, mundane life, and for that reason it is uplifting. It provides guitars galore, which becomes a theme on this album. This is followed by a personal favourite, ‘Millionaires’, a thoughtful tune about society’s attempt to create a false sense of happiness. It’s about it being okay to be sad about things that do not live up to expectations, and again the guitar hooks are especially effective.
The party doesn’t stop with ‘Yoyo’, perhaps the most experimental track. It’s chaotic but extremely fun, right down to its origin. It apparently came from a dripping tap heard by frontman Jack Cochrane, with this sound even making it as far as the demo. The OB-1 synth, along with a collection of vocals designed to send your head spinning, works wonders here.
Another imaginative song is ‘Butterside Down’, which is about life not going your way (such as dropping your toast and it landing on the buttered side). This one perhaps best sums up the album, with the anthemic quality of the chorus playing nicely with its relatable topic. This illustrates nicely The Snuts’ exemplary music and songwriting capabilities.
The album closes on a reflective note with ‘Circles’. It’s more conventional but no less impressive compared to the rest of the album. It’s heartfelt, showcasing The Snuts’ incredible range. ‘Circles’ proves to be a change of tack, with the strings providing a nice break from the guitars. It’s nice to end with an analogy of life – that you could lose everything but still be happy with the person you are with. The album finishes on a positive, and it’s one which will definitely get the phone lights out.
Millennials is about the experiences, both the highs and lows, of Generation Y. These listeners will appreciate the imaginative, fan-made album art. It may relate more to some than others, but the topics covered are easy to relate to and listen to, making it very accessible. In a world where politics is at the forefront, it’s refreshing to hear an album focused solely on the human experience, especially one as good as this.
The Snuts are performing at O2 Academy Bournemouth as part of their first UK headline tour in November. You can purchase tickets here.
Millennials is out now via Happy Artist Records. You can watch the music video for ‘Circles’ below.
