Snapblades have just released a new EP on Vinyl Eddie Records, the 8th release on the not-so-fledged label based in York. Snapblades are Matt “Smell” Keeley (vox and bass) and Dan “Gottie” Gott (Drums, Guitars and vox). There are six tracks including two covers. Interestingly and perhaps groundbreakingly for the way the world currently exists and the way the music industry wants to operate, there will be no digital release of any kind for the EP. In the punk duo’s words, “No social media. No streaming. No Bullshit” That is a real old-school punk approach, but that might mean that they never get to read this review as I won’t have the ability to tag them anywhere! I am really keen to understand if the band’s no socials and no streaming experiment works, are you? They go on to say”Punk rock has become a form of prostitution. A popularity contest that no one can win! It never used to be this way. Punk was the sound of the streets. And those streets were angry. very angry! Can people still muster the effort to find music, without it being spoon-fed to them? Snapblades offers up a social experiment: do people still listen to press music? (These are questions Snapblades will find out the answers to”. I suppose a big question is what exactly is the music press these days? The inkies are long gone, monthly publications are glossy and mostly backward-looking and that leaves us with online stuff, right? So perhaps most reviews of this EP will be online and on socials.
But all of that is a different discussion, what about the EP? It opens with the hard and heavy riff fest that is “Panto”. I am reminded of peak Motorhead with the speed and anger captured in this track. “Obedience” carries on where “Panto” leaves off and it has a euphoric 70s punk feel, maybe early Damned or the Adverts. The first of the two covers is Flint’s “Broken Toys” and the boys do this song some serious justice and it is my current favourite. “Shiny Shoes” has a feel of 70s punk once again, maybe Chelsea, or TV Smiths band again. “Flowers And Thorns” sounds like it might be a decent demo for a full-on metal assault, something I think this pair has in them. Instrumentally and vocally it is possibly the best-recorded track on the EP. The collection closes with a cover of Media Control’s “Anti Social” and it oozes old-school punk vibes. This is a damned good EP, that hits you like the Incredible Hulk on a sackload of whizz and gives you no respite until the end. Click here if you want to get your hands on a black vinyl or limited edition splatter vinyl from Vinyl Eddie Records. I have a question for Snapblades, have they deliberately chosen to do covers from bands that are also not present anywhere on social media, or is this part of their master plan and these songs are in fact secretly Snapblades originals? I’m not being cynical here, just curious, because if they were in fact Snapblades’ own tunes, that would be very punk in my opinion! I hope to find out when I see the band later this month 🙂
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