Nope, not the new album (that’s being released next year) but a collection of covers all given a distinctive makeover by the veteran oiks we all know and love as the mighty Snuff. Here we get tracks from artists as diverse as Africa Bambaata, Bob Dylan and…er…Girls Aloud. Save me.
It’s the Girls Aloud track ‘Sound of the Underground’ that opens proceedings, with all of the plastic sheen and polish of the original immediately obliterated by the raw guitar that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Snuff original, such is the nature of the song. The familiar vocal melody is there but the speed has obviously been cranked up and the bottom line is that it’s a fuckload better than the original. In a warped world this is what the kids would buy – let’s make it happen. Unfortunately, The Toys’ ‘A Lovers Concerto’ shows the limitations of the band since the vocal stretching for those pesky high bits is wince-worthy at times, and to be honest the song plods along at a quite negligible pace. I don’t know the original but this version has none of the urgency and punch of pretty much everything else I’ve heard Snuff do.
The weird thing is that I usually dislike the musical output of both Buckleys (Tim and Jeff) but this cover of ‘Song To The Siren’ is excellent – all chugging guitars and soft melodies pushed that bit further by Duncan’s inimitable voice. Dylan’s ‘You’re A Big Girl Now’ is next up for the treatment and is slightly lighter than the other tracks here, perhaps due to the fact that the traditional crunchy Snuff sound is absent, replaced by a more languid (yet still relatively pacy) rolling drum beat. You know what you’re getting with ‘Bye Bye Blackbird’ which marks a return to their trademark heavier sound, and I swear there are times when they sound a bit like Motorhead on one of their lighter days (like their cover of Louie Louie…go find it, it’s ace). It’s an excellent choice of cover for Snuff, full of melodic riffs mixing with shouty singalong bits – kinda like their originals, one might reasonably say.
I will firmly admit to having no idea where or what the fuck ‘O Sakana Tengoku’ came from or is. Apparently it’s a happy Japanese song about eating fish – who said songs are losing their lyrical relevance today? – and makes for somewhat surreal listening along with ‘Rokko Oroshi’. It’s just…really strange listening to Snuff rock out with a Japanese edge, but that doesn’t take anything away from the quality of the tracks at all. ‘Planet Rock’ is a lightning-quick hardcore version of the Africa Bambaata track, which I’m sure Kraftwerk sampled too, complete with funky breakdown and breakneck speed throughout.
To be perfectly honest, as with all covers albums you’re getting a bunch of songs which are personal to the band and as such can feel a touch exclusive. But that doesn’t seem to be the case here, because Snuff really are an excellent band with enough ideas to keep sounding fresh even though the tracks they’ve chosen could be described as more than a touch left field. You’re in no doubt whatsoever who you’re listening to, and if you fancy a bit of harsh punk rock with a bit of heritage then go buy this. It’s very good, and I’d rather listen to a good band play covers than a shit band play originals.
Ben