Review of The Snuts as 'ones to watch' rockers show Sunderland what they're made of

Yet to release an album, the band are regarded by many as the next big thing on the Scottish music scene, and they showed Sunderland why with a selection of older guitar-driven fan favourites and unreleased material.

This marked the first time the band have played in the North East since May when they appeared on the Richard Hamilton stage at This Is Tomorrow Festival and their first headline slot since they graced Newcastle’s Think Tank in October 2018.

That night on Tyneside saw two support bands, a local North East band and Mark Sharp and the Bicycle Thieves, a five-piece from north of the boarder and they stuck with the same formula at the Holmeside venue with Plastic Glass opening the night with a plethora of guitar-driven tracks.

Following the openers, Mark Sharp and the Bicycle Thieves riled up the capacity crowd. The band, who also hails from West Lothian, concluded their set with a fantastic rendition of 90s rave anthem Born Slippy by Underworld.

From one Scottish band with a bright future to another, and the Snuts came out with a different setlist to what fans of the band have become accustomed to. Rather than starting with The Matator, the quartet opened with the thumping bass of new fan favourite All Your Friends.

Setting the tone for the rest of the night, the joy on lead singer Jack Cochrane’s face was clear as the crowd whisked themselves into a whirl of bodies being hurled around with every riff coming from the prominent bassline.

The frenzy continued as the focus switched to Glasgow, undoubtedly the Snuts’ headline track which triggered a singalong from start to finish.

With everyone in the room in full flow, two more singles followed in the form of Seasons and the band’s newest release, Maybe California.

“We need to calm down a bit” exclaimed Cochrane, clearly surprised by the passion of the Sunderland crowd. “Time for a slow one” he added before the band slid into new territory with Boardwalk – one of three unreleased songs on the setlist.

One of the highlights from the night came from a solo performance of Proper by the lead singer, a song of unknown beauty until it is played at a slower pace.

Following a joke about the lack of availability of Buckfast on Wearside, another singalong brought the night to an end with Mark Sharp coming back on stage to assist with Sing For Your Supper, an anthemic way to end a fantastic night with a band who are on the brink of something huge.