REVIEW - STÖJ SNAK "Songs About Beliefs" (2012)

Stöj Snak "Songs About Beliefs" TNS Records TNS025/5 Feetunder Records FEET026
Release date: 9 November 2012
Running time: 16:08, 5 tracks + 1 bonus track

“Songs about Beliefs”. That’s exactly what one can found on Niels Hölgaard Sörensen a.k.a. Stöj Snak’s second EP.  A D.I.Y. collection of honest songs  covering all the folk-punk ends: angry folk, riot folk (“The City Burns Tonight”), songs about (against?) religion (“No Refunds”), utopias and dreams (“State of Mine”).

Stöj Snak’s sound  has been described as “Bob Dylan playing in Green Day”. The whole EP is a solid recording and Niels is backed by a bunch of friends playing percussion, harmonica, harmonium, synths and flute. If I had to choose only two tracks from the EP, these would be the ones I would pick up:

1)     “State of Mine”, a top-notch song both lyrically and musically. The beginning of the song is very Dylanesque with that harmonica sound, but immediately it turns into a Billy Bragg sounding number from the “William Bloke” era. If Billy Bragg was talking then about “Socialism of the Heart”, Niels sings about a world that all of us should dream of. Just read the lyrics (they are available at Bandcamp), I’m sure you’ll love it.

2)    “Great Ideas Need Landing Gear”, my fave, amazing lyrics and a great banjo and music that could be filed together with Billy Bragg “Workers Playtime” album.

If you like folk punk,  don’t waste your time and go to Bandcamp to download the EP. Probably the best thing to come out of Denmark after “The Killing” TV series.

Tracklist:

1 - Collateral Damage 3:04
2 - State of Mine 3:53
3 - Party on the Hillside 1:48
4 - Great Ideas Need Landing Gear 2:04
5 - No Refunds 2:17
6 - Bonus track: The City Burns Tonight 2:48



http://www.stojsnak.com
http://www.facebook.com/StojSnak

Click to buy:

http://music.stojsnak.com


Review by Kinksmarkham