SNAPPED ANKLES - "Hard Times Furious Dancing

Label: The Leaf Label Ltd.

Release date: March 28, 2025

Influences: Psychadelic Rock, Industrial, EBM, Post-Punk, Folk Music, World Music, Acid, Techno, Funk (Not enough room for more genres here!)

It’s not every day I hear something that makes me stop and ask myself: How on earth is this even working? But this London-based band, formed in 2011 and known for performing in ghillie suits and building their own "log synths", has done it again. With the help of nine new tracks they invite all those who are lost in the unrelenting noise of the present, to leave it all behind and come together in the forest.

I must confess that Snapped Ankles' music usually comes across as way too chaotic and psychedelic for me. But when I stumbled upon the single “Smart World” last year, I realized that it was about time I gave them some proper attention. "Smart World" is a dry and mechanical, yet groovy track, featuring a somewhat DAF-inspired bassline.

But let's not get ahead of things here. The opening track “Pay the Rent” introduces the spoken-word vocal style that appears throughout the album, adding an extra layer to their complex sound. Think the energy and political urgency of Consolidated or Test.Dept — set and ready to walk right up to the power doped corporate big shots or Donald Trump himself and kick them in the face — and you might get a hint. The funk carries echoes of Cabaret Voltaire, and there are sharp, knotted acid lines like something Jack Dangers might’ve cooked up for Meat Beat Manifesto. And just when I think I have a grip on the punk ridden electro organic vibe, they throw in string instruments that make you think of Middle Eastern and Asian folk music. Among the distant distorted guitars and other details that are hidden in a vast backdrop of sounds that is. I should be surprised — maybe even confused — but it fits. Strangely perfectly.

The analogue bassline that unfolds on "Personal Responsibilities" reminds me of the sound of Nitzer Ebb around the Big Hit era. But as always with Snapped Ankles, you’re almost immediately fooled and pulled away into a hypnotic tribal wonderland. Everything keeps colliding, track in and track out, where quirky acid loops curl their way around acoustic drum loops that vibrate with raw physical energy. Every track is packed with surprise. "Dancing in Transit" reminds me of The Prodigy in their more primal moments — but it's less rave and more ritual. It’s messy, organic, mechanical, hypnotic — and totally alive. There’s a kind of minimalism running through the basslines on the record, almost like a mantra. Monotone, repetitive, but never boring. More like a groove that slowly rewires your brain while rhythmic elements of congas and cowbells paralyzes you to the rhythm of salsa and samba.

I don’t fully understand how Snapped Ankles manage to put all this together and still make it feel like one coherent album. But they do. Hard Times Furious Dancing is one of the strangest and most original things I’ve heard in a long time, at least in this context. Twisted, absurd, brilliant. It’s not for everyone — but if you’re tired of hearing the same ideas in different packaging, this will feel like a blast of fresh, psychedelic forest air.

Broaden your horizons. Let Snapped Ankles take you on a rollercoaster ride like no other. You might not come back the same. (Jens Atterstrand)

Hard Times Furious Dancing comes digitally, on CD, in two different vinyl editions and in a vinyl and T-shirt bundle.

Support your scene and buy this album here.