I`ve heard of bands being formed at the back of a bus or singers being found at a perfume counter in a local supermarket. But I have never heard of a band being formed inside a mosh pit. Well, that is apparently where Charlie Herridge and Ollie Horner met. Pretty rock and roll if you ask me. After finding a common interest, both spent good months telling everybody what a great band they were and even got an offer from Kid Kapichi for a support slot. The only issue was they had no songs written and had to improvise at last minute`s notice. Now any person who had to hand in an essay at school on Monday will attest, there is no bigger rush of creativity than the one you get on Sunday at 11 pm. Basically the homework is writing itself on a combination of knowledge, panic, wishing for the best and faking till you make it. I`ve had some incredible results using this method personally and I have a feeling so did SNAYX as their debut gig turned out to be half an hour of fierce and politically engaged music.
EP sleeve is a small work of art
Being at a gig like this is a music journalist`s dream. You get to see the very birth of a band that can change the world. Imagine witnessing Nirvana`s first gig on 1st April 1987…
Well, before we compare SNAYX to grunge era titans – let`s just say that they are changing the world on a smaller scale.
In the last two years SNAYX went from playing grass root music venues to playing festivals at home and abroad, sharing stages with Nova Twins and having their records reviewed in Kerrang and NME. Along the way they joined forces with drummer Lainey Loops, released the universally acclaimed EP “Weaponized Youth: Part 1” and found time to record new material. It is an incredible amount of work, and I have a feeling the band achieved it by being sleep deprived and over caffeinated.
But whatever it took, the results are impressive. Massive really. “Better Days” bridges the older songs (title track, “Sink or Swim”) with brand new material (“King”, “Concrete”) to create a sort of ying/yang of a record.
Before, SNAYX were compared to Sleaford Mods, The Prodigy or even Gorillaz, but this EP shows them from an angle that even I wasn’t expecting. I mean the furious raps over a cacophony of distorted loops and beats are still there. They are still angry, in your face and politically driven. “Sink or Swim ” is a good example of it. It starts in a Sleadfordy manner but quickly morphs into something completely different. There are dual chants, almost automatic repetitions, whispers, samples and when the track is finished, SNAYX find themselves closer to Beastie Boys than Nottingham duo. “King” starts with a quasi r`n`b intro and reminds me of 80`s pop songs. There are moments of electronica, cold wave and hooks that would be more appropriate on a Duran Duran or Bryan Ferry composition. Damn it, there are even references to the early Tubeaway Army!
I had to listen to the EP several times and no, I am not going deaf. The clean vocals on “Concrete” and “Better Days” are a homage to Gary Numan in his Replicas era. Bands change and reinvent themselves all the time, but what SNAYX are doing sonically on this EP is a revolution. It proves what Kerrang said about the band about a year ago – that they are developing at such a speed that in five years’ time they may as well be one of the most innovative acts in rock. Maybe instead of Nirvana, we need to compare SNAYX to Devilhead – the most eclectic of the bands that ever came out of Seattle.
“Better Days” is filled with bangers but put music aside and the band still delivers. The lyrics have always been what I loved about SNAYX. They could put into words an explosive concoction of feelings: post Brexit despair, the angst of living under austerity and hope that is rarer in Tory Britain than water in the Sahara. On their new EP they speak of being stranded – both economically and socially, lacking progress and change. And they do it in a direct, street-smart way to use the words of Manuncian poet Mike Garry. Because the lyrics are straight to the point and accessible, the message is reassuring and strangely comforting. As if the band wanted to say: you are not alone, we are all in this together.
I think this is a privilege to have bands like SNAYX on the indie circuit. This coming April, they will play an extensive European tour and probably get many offers to relocate to a country with better art funding, easier living conditions and better opportunities for musicians. But they stick with this island and with their fan base. If that’s not punk in itself, then it`s kick ass. And that’s how I like my rock and roll.
SNAYX photographed by Birdie Cummings
You can follow the band online:
https://snayx.com/
https://twitter.com/SNAYX_UK
https://www.facebook.com/SNAYX
https://www.tiktok.com/@snayx_uk
https://soundcloud.com/snayx_uk
https://www.youtube.com/@SNAYX_UK
https://open.spotify.com/artist/4kQgsrHUSc9IjuwWP30gf0?si=j7PsXGJNQwS8X04GNOoA-A
Further reading:
https://www.noizze.co.uk/snayx-better-days-ep-review/
https://www.kerrang.com/ep-review-snayx-better-days
https://www.punktastic.com/album-reviews/snayx-better-days/
Malicia Dabrowicz
Indieterria 