Stöj Snak describe themselves as a ‘Screamer Songwriter’ band on their Bandcamp page, and to be honest I wasn’t entirely sure I wanted to be screamed at 1st thing in the morning, but thankfully I gave their new single ‘Fire’ the attention it deserved and it’s a really interesting mix of musical styles.
Far more accurate and intriguing is the other description that I’ve seen of them, which is ‘Thrash Folk’ or quite simply ‘Punk Folk’, which sounds far more endearing. The new song is the 1st to be released from their new album ‘Life, Death and Everything in Between’, which I like, even if I’m surprised it hasn’t been used before sometime.
Anyway ‘Fire’ has equal quantities of charm and energy, starting and finishing at breakneck speed, and with just the briefest pauses for breath in between. That charm comes from the variety of instruments which are the foundation of the track, backed up by the fact that Stöj Snak list 10 musicians having played on the album, including the 4 core members. Vocally for sure, the screaming is a little intense when it first blasts out of the speakers, but there’s a catchy melody to enjoy, and somehow the whole thing fits together.
Lyrically the song considers the never ending conflicts of ideologies in our society, and how we always seem to fuel the flames, rather than try and solve problems. As the band say “We should have heeded Nietzsche’s warming: ’Beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster... for when you gaze long into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.’”
It’s a fair point, although as Major Parkinson also established, “never trust a music teacher who’s quoting Nietzsche.”