The Snuts at Stirling Castle Online

The Snuts took over Stirling Castle last night to play the entirety of their debut album WL (named for the initials of the youth football club they played in). The band consists of Jack Cochrane (vocals/guitar), Joe McGillveray (guitar), Callum “29” Wilson (bass) and Jordan “Joko” Mackay (drums). The West Lothians, friends since primary school, sold out three nights at Glasgow’s Barrowlands in just one minute, before the release of their debut album, which gives an idea of the hype surrounding them. They may sound like a newly invented dirty word, but they’re actually indie-rockers with both barrels loaded with hook-laden tunes.

They’ve had the misfortune to come up during a pandemic, which means their album has been delayed by more than a year, and then again for another two weeks since 19^th of March due to issues getting vinyl copies delivered to fans. This didn’t seem to have dampened their spirits, as they told the Daily Record that before the recording of Glasgow the each downed a bottle of Buckfast to capture the right energy. (For the uninitiated, Buckfast is a caffeinated, fortified wine made by monks in Devon that may be largely responsible for the Scots being able to handle their weather, their tradition of kilts without underwear, annoyances from the English, Brexit, you name it. In short it makes a bottle of White Lightning or Mad Dog 20/20 look like tipple for amateurs – or the English.)

The show opens with a stripped-back version of Top Deck, with just cellist Heather Lynne and Cochrane on vocals and guitar. The next track, the strutting Always, takes things up a notch and sets the tone of accomplished, catchy guitar indie-rock that brings to mind early Arctic Monkeys or Kasabian. Each song is confident and well-formed, with a distinctive feel. Somebody Loves You is sweet and uplifting, although a departure from the tone of the rest of the set. For set highlight Glasgow, the moon turns up in the form of a glowing inflatable orb in the background, to which Cochrane gestures happily. The song makes the most of the singer’s raw vocals, slightly indecipherable but heart tugging all the same. 

The band is energetic and endearing, its frontman in his sunnies the whole time, the rest loving their music. Considering they’ve not been able to tour, their stagecraft is confident. The production makes sure to mix things up for each song, using frenetic and glitchy lighting and cuts for the rawer and more energetic numbers, and scaling back for the slower, more thoughtful material. This band deserves to be big: what they’ve got can’t be bottled.  

Jessica Wall

For further information and future events visit The Snuts’s website here.

Watch the video for the single Somebody Loves You here: