Maybe its because I love Minder so much (I am acutely aware that this has come out on a European Label and no one knows what I am talking about – briefly it’s a UK TV show from the 70s, 80s and 90s, there was a remake in the 2000s but we don’t talk about that ….) that I am so pre-disposed to like cockney bands so much.
And Snuff – led by Duncan Redmonds the drummer and singer – have been doing this stuff since the mid-80s off and on. Perhaps because they came after punk as it were, they have always been proud not to fit in.
“Off On The Charabanc” is more proof of that.
It all begins with “Go Easy”. What appears to be a hymn to the lost local, it is a uniquely English thing. Think of The Professionals. And just enjoy the phrase “choy-oicking” as an example of folk art. Billy Bragg eat your heart out.
The (near) title track “Charabanc” is almost as much fun. So much energy and melody, and the payoff line: “a trip to A & E” as if every night out ends there.
And “energy” is a good word for it. The drums on “Booster” could start a moshpit on their own, a thought that “Yellow Lights” also extends.
But the fact that Snuff always do things on their own terms is underlined by “Purple Prisoner”. Which seemingly takes Deep Purple’s “Hush” as its starting point for some instrumental fun.
Then there’s a bit of Hanoi Rocks style sax on “Fireball”, which is a molten shot of confused, disorientating anger, then there’s “Children Get Ready “, which loses itself merrily in the hook line “fuck me and fuck you.”
But here’s why “Charabanc” is so damn good. At its heart it’s a folk album. “The Skip” – and I like to think of it as the clear-up at the pub in the opener – namechecks Chas And Dave (the finest songwriters these shores have ever produced).
Furthermore, it allows me to expound my theory once more that the best songs can always work acoustically. Snuff know this. There’s a lot of different versions of the albums songs afterwards.
These are not just “bonus tracks” with little artistic merit or just crap versions of the same songs (listen to Bon Jovi’s utter dog turd of a record “This Left Feels Right” exhibit A for the prosecution), rather “Go Easy” and “Yellow Lights” and the likes add to things, while “Reach” is simply a lovely song.
“Toxic” seems to survey the modern world and not like what it sees. “Toxic doesn’t know it’s toxic”, for some reason, Lee Anderson (the piece of shit ex-Labour councillor, ex-Tory, current racist MP – sue me Lee, it’s cool) comes into my head here, can’t think why.
“All Over Now” adds a dose of reflection, while many a folk artist would love to be in possession of the superb “An Arm And A Leg To Kilnsey Craig”, which has a real depth to it.
And “depth” is a good word to end on. “Off And The Charabanc” is a punk album, but it’s way more than that. Although, seeing as it follows no rules, maybe that’s as punk as you can be?
Rating 8.5/10
