Moth Club, Hackney
“Try and get away! Just can’t do it.”
The U.S. punk band Snõõper storm through Hackney’s Moth Club, inciting an incendiary 35-minute set filled with playful antics, paper mache mascots and an inescapable energy.
Over the last decade or so, punk has regained once-lost ground across the globe. From Japan’s Otoboke Beaver, to Australia’s The Chats, to Sweden’s Viagra Boys and the U.K’s Idles, the U.S. hasn’t been omitted this time around; a plethora of more recent, DIY punk acts have recently broken through the glass ceiling. Classified under the mere-recent term of ‘egg punk’, Snõõper invariably fall within this melding between abrasive punk sounds and a jostling for facetious antics amongst their live shows.
For this evening at the nation’s capital proved no different: a fire-and-brimstone set for a sold-out audience cramped within East London’s Moth Club. Reciting their critically-acclaimed debut LP of last year, Super Snõõper, ‘Stretching’ commences such antics anchored by various workout routines: makeshift dumbbells, coordinated gymwear, synchronised headbanging; spearheaded by their relentless leader, Blair Tramel.
What Snõõper lacks in lyrical pertinence, the band compensates with an explosive spectacle of effervescent energy throughout. ‘Pod’ seethes with a likeness to the Riot Grrrl sounds of yesteryear (Bikini Kill, Sleater-Kinney), updated with a modern, yet playful, carelessness which writhes amongst the ensuing chaos. Similarly, ‘Fitness’ invites yet another 1-minute vignette into the energised aura of the band, as if gazing upon some pumped-up CrossFit team competing for the Louisiana Championships, an undeniably impressive feat to recite each night.
The remainder of Tramel’s entourage, particularly drummer Cam Sarrett, exude an unbridled confidence and collaborative synergy. Adding a notable backbone to the implosion of scathing guitar riffs and blaring distortions, Sarrett offers enticing beat switches; never certain which direction he may push or pull the band toward within their minute-length recitals. ‘Fruit Fly’ and ‘Defect’ accentuate such eclecticism from Snõõper, with the latter rousing punchy, scarring words (“Defect, reset, select, accept, connect”); against whom exactly, perhaps we’ll never know.
As the set nears its conclusion, the inescapable cauldron of energy surges one final time. ‘Music for Spies’ incites infectious head-banging (“Try and get away! Just can’t do it”) whilst their cover of ‘Unable’, from the lesser-known 80’s post-punk band, Suburban Lawns, colourises the very beginnings of this beloved lo-fi, stripped-apart scene which shaped punk for years to come. Somewhat expectedly, the cameo appearance of Snõõper’s 10-foot paper mache mascot denotes the apex of their show within their incendiary finale of ‘Running’. Wading through the audience, bristling with crowd-surfing and rapturous solos, Snõõper departs the scene with an accentuation of their force majeure over the punk scene of late; refusing any outright seriousness, yet demanding respect and relentless energy from their live show.
This lightning-in-a-bottle set from Snõõper ultimately marked a true highlight from such balmy September evenings in East London. Inciting one of the most explosive sets of this year, instigating an even crescendo throughout tonight’s performance; climaxing at the revered cameo. Snõõper has undoubtedly imparted as one of the most enticing bands of current; leaving us desperate for more from their unbridled, unserious, unconfined veneer.
7.5/10
Snõõper's debut LP, Super Snõõper, is out now via Third Man Records and can be found below.
Photo is courtesy of Jamie MacMillan whose work can be found here.
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