Snapped Ankles make music to soundtrack the apocalypse

The band’s wild, kinetic post-punk is as much a visual offering as it is an auditory one. They are strange and they are odd, producing frenzied, unsettled krautrock that is somehow danceable, and they’ve developed a reputation for their costumed attire and penchant for putting on brutal live performances.

The band’s sophomore record Stunning Luxury, however, is as close as you can get to witnessing the band in person, their latest offering an adventurous effort in mixing everything from dance-punk, dreamy ambience, electro-pop (or rock) and everything imaginable in between.

It’s the attention to detail amid a seemingly chaotic wall of noise that makes Stunning Luxury such a textured, measured record. Opening track “Pestisound (Moving Out)” is held together by the rhythmic cowbell and steadied chants. The multi-layered instruments and plethora of noises ebb and flow in and against each other, and tracks such as “Letter from Hampi Mountain” and “Rechargeable” are immediate and urgent, but never hurried.

Amid the frenzy, there is a balance. The intellect of Bill Hicks is alluded to, who has influenced another London-based post-punk in Goat Girl (they subverted the comedian’s "Goat Boy" act for their band name) and it’s riddled in similar themes of dark humour and taboo subjects. There is a measured heartbeat across the tracks that keep the insanity of the soundscapes grounded. Much like their post-punk counterparts in Show Me The Body, Shame and BODEGA, there is a primal aspect to the record hiding behind subtle hints of pop. It’s no surprise that they share similar qualities to SMTB and BODEGA, both bands who have popped out of New York City’s punk scene which, in turn, evolved from the metropolis’ dance-punk movement in the early 2000s. Snapped Ankles make music to soundtrack the apocalypse, and you can’t help simply sitting and enjoying the ride.