Snuff

Tweet Tweet My Lovely (1998)

Jeff Sorley

1998 saw the recent punk resurgence in full-swing. Fat had put out another successful comp ('Physical Fatness') which, once again, featured two new Snuff tracks; one of which would be on their upcoming follow-up to their 1996 Fat debut 'Demmamusabebonk.'

'Tweet Tweet My Lovely' came out in May, 1998, and showed a bit of a softer side for Snuff. Once again the hammond organ and trombone make their appearances, but there are notable differences from their previous release.

The first, and most noticeable is likely the cleaner sound, which could be chalked up to a bigger recording budget. The guitar and bass are much clearer and the overall sound speaks of a higher (or more editorial) production process.

Snuff have the uncanny ability to write songs that are musically uplifting and exciting. Tracks like "All You Need," "Iyehf Taidu Leikh" and, of course, the Motown-esque "Nick Motown" are built from the ground up to raise your spirits. The latter two are so fun and well-crafted that they transcend genre. I haven't met a person yet who has a bad thing to say about them. As much as a song can raise out spirits, we also get songs that break that spirit such as "Ticket," (joining the military); and the slow-boiling "Thief," with its slightly off-kilter trombone, (everyone is out to get you, no one is honest).

Notably missing on the album are the traditional "bombastic" tracks that Snuff enjoys throwing in. "Timebomb" is a fat, short, and noisy song in the vein of early-80s hardcore, and "Etc." is likely the closest thing that the band has to a jam song… mostly just a repeating rhythm, that repetitious "Hoo!" and a plethora of sound samples along with the hammond organ rolling up and down the keys.

Possibly the most popular song off of the album is, of course, "Arsehole," a kind of bluesy-rockabilly exclamation of just how awful of a human one is. Plus, it is just incredibly fun to sing along to and, I can attest, thousands of people chanting "We're all assholes, we're a bunch of wankers" is one of the few crowd sing-alongs which I truly enjoyed participating in with no shame.

And, of course, the closer "Take Me Home (Piss Off)" is arguably the best song about that confusing phase of the night where you have left the pub and are trying to sort exactly how you are getting home. This song is, honestly, one of my top-ten songs of all time.

'Tweet Tweet…' is a worthy follow-up to 'Demma…' and, while the song-writing and composition is tight, there seemed to be a bit of a spark missing on some of the songs, and about a third of them (obviously the ones not mentioned here) may have been better served as B-sides on a single.

Snuff may have been on the top of their game (and popularity) in '98 but, aside from the crowd-pleasers featured on the Fat comps, their overall output has typically had a "love it or leave it" response. Their sound is unique and, admittedly, except for a few standout songs, it really isn't for everyone.

Did this album have a huge impact on the punk scene at the time? I don't think so. But Snuff did (and still do) serve as international ambassadors of punk- indeed they are one of the early "big in Japan" punk bands, and have continued to stoke that relationship 20 years on.

This album is probably the most accessible Snuff album for those who want to delve in, although my guess is that even those who like it may find the others a bit difficult to digest.