West Lothian indie band The Snuts rocketed to the top of the Official Charts with debut album W.L – Whitburn Loopy, named after the young team where they reside – and God, what an album to begin with!
Garnering a massive following from their hometown, the band has gone from strength to strength playing live shows all around the country. Their loyal fan base and infectious personalities meant that when the time came to announce their long-awaited album, it was anticipated with a fervor that I could only compare to an Academy-nominated blockbuster.
The boys had international superstar Demi Lovato and her pack of devoted fans to battle but beat the ex-Disney Channel star by just 272 chart sales.
This is the first time in fourteen years that a Scottish band has topped the charts, with Dundee-based boys The View nabbing a number one with ‘Hats Off to the Buskers’ in 2007.
The album opens with ‘Top Deck’ – a beautiful composition of guitar and cello, with stand-out lines such as ‘And is there enough hands on the top deck/To spare your worried mind from heartbreak?’.
The opening song is about the impact of drugs on the teenage generation, which frontman Jack Cochrane wrote when he was just 15 years old. This song allows Cochrane’s insane vocal capabilities to shine through, alongside a somber melody and subtly sad lyrics.
Flowing seamlessly into previous singles ‘Always’ and ‘Juan Belmonte’ these tracks have similar yet different vibes. The guitar is infectious and would get the grouchiest to nod their head along to it. The mixture of genres through these songs is incredible; from blues in ‘Juan’ to the force of nature with house-inspired ‘Always’.
The bassline in ‘All Your Friends’ was a riff by bass player Callum that sparked a new wave of fans to The Snuts door, and rightfully so. The chorus is perfect for an electric atmosphere at a gig, and the sudden drop back into the verses leave you coming back for more again and again.
‘Somebody Loves You’ was a charity track recorded to raise funds for the Scottish Refugee Council, and is considered the cheeriest song on the track. The organs at the beginning give me goosebumps each time, and is the perfect pick-up track to remind you- somebody loves you, and that’s all I’ll say.
Now onto the track that began it all for the band. ‘Glasgow’ is the track that makes you fall in love with a city, a band, a person, a feeling. It encompasses everything that the band is about – never forgetting where you came from and incredible music into the mix. The way the band made the album version sound exactly how it is played live, was unbelievable to me. It made me feel like I am back hearing it for the first time, on YouTube in my room at 15 years old.
The tug of war that is ‘No Place I’d Rather Go’ is up next, a song that perfectly describes every coming-of-age story in the country. The lyrics ‘And if you ever catch me wishing/Hoping for more/Won’t you just please remind me of’ – encompass that feeling of wanting to spread your wings and travel the world.
Yet, that homesick feeling stays stuck in your stomach and is a reminder that there’s no place like home. The bridge sets the hairs on the back of your neck on edge, the feeling of being free coupled with Jack’s perfect voice and Joe’s melodic guitar. It’s enough to bring a tear to a glass eye.
‘Boardwalk’ captures the feeling of every emotion possible at once, its melancholy guitar and tender lyrics mean it sits at the top as one of my favourite songs of all time. It has to be said, however, the live version of this track takes it to another level completely, with the build-up in the guitar and drums rendering me speechless.
Previous singles ‘Maybe California’, ‘Coffee and Cigarettes’ and ‘Elephants’ are arguably the perfect tracks for driving to wherever your staycation is this summer. Hip-hop-inspired ‘Elephants’ is next level in terms of production and will be a permanent track in most of my playlists for the foreseeable future.
‘Don’t Forget It (Punk)’ is the most experimental track on the album thus far, explosive guitar and drummer Jordan’s backing vocals shining through here. This is the song that tells the listener, this band means business and does things on their authentic terms.
The album finishes with my personal favourite, and the reason I am a fan in the first place, ‘Sing for Your Supper’. The quality of songwriting in this track was the main reason I knew this band was going to high places, and the album version did not disappoint. It is an emotional song, full of passion, and will go down as one of the best songs in their entire discography.
Extra tracks like ‘Blur Beat’ and ‘Microwave’ are criminally underrated in terms of musicality and lyrical genius and are out there in terms of the band’s normal sound. ‘4 Baillie Street’ is an ode to a street in Whitburn, and brought me to years on first listen. Hearing the emotion in Jack’s voice as he belts ‘Won’t you stay with me? I love you so/Won’t you sing with me, please, every note?/How I long to be 18 years old’ is incredibly personal to someone who comes from the street adjacent to Baillie Street. It resonated as a track that longs to still be young, but with the knowledge of a much wiser man.
‘Waterbirds’ is the final track on the deluxe album, and focuses mostly on the intricate guitar flowing throughout it. It brings the album to a lulling finish, and the harmonies within the string arrangement and guitar resemble that of the opening track.
In all, ‘W.L’ is, in terms of a debut album, practically perfect. Some fans were disappointed to not see demos such as ‘Mixer’, ‘What’s Going On’ and ‘The Matador’ on the tracklisting; but as Cochrane put simply, some songs are better left how they are, exceptional to begin with.
The album perfectly encapsulates the feeling of growing up in a working-class town with no way out of the cycle, but Jack, Joe, Callum, and Jordan have proven to all those hopeful kids that no place is too small to put on the map forever.
W.L #1 Forever.
