Snapped Ankles – Stunning Luxury – Ltd Ed Pink Vinyl, LP, w CD, Leaf, 2019
The second album from Snapped Ankles. From humble forest beginnings via bohemian East London on debut album Come Play The Trees, Snapped Ankles are moving on. The log synths have been transformed into gaudy To Let and For Sale signs, which have become the new instrument of choice for the discerning woodwose. The sounds they eke out of the housing bubble are as frenzied and unstable as you’d expect. Dystopian bangers. Illicit thrills. Stunning Luxury moves quickly through life in the capital: microdosing mindfulness in the morning, a poisoned nod to the marketing department, investment portfolios and death by same day delivery. The primal rhythms and forest chants are all present and correct. On the surface it’s hedonistic business as usual a communal dance for the ages. But there’s a sense of discomfort too. There’s subversion, but it’s not clear who’s subverting who. There’s a message, but it’s often fragmented. Keep dancing. Perhaps the woodwose are human after all.