Snapped Ankles

Snapped Ankles are a London group active since 2012, identified with dance-punk and post-punk, and also linked to krautrock, crank wave, garage rock and experimental music. The band members are Paddy Austin and Mikey Chestnutt. They are based in London and perform in ghillie suits and shamanistic costumes, keeping their individual identities obscure while building a performance-led live act that incorporates art rock and performance art.

Formation and early releases

The group forms in East London in 2011 and begins with DIY nights built around live improvisation, chopping up 1960s films and sequencing the material with synthesisers. Their first single, True Ecology (Shit Everywhere), appears in December 2012 on Ears Have Eyes. In early 2015 they issue I Want My Minutes Back on white label, then reissue it in 2017 as their first release on The Leaf Label.

Recording career

Snapped Ankles sign to The Leaf Label in 2017. Their first release specifically for the label is the 12-inch EP The Best Light Is The Last Light, released in June 2017, followed by debut album Come Play the Trees in September 2017. The album is noted for its propulsive, angular post-punk sound and for drawing comparisons with Can and The Fall. Their second album, Stunning Luxury, appears on The Leaf Label in 2019 and is built around city and suburban settings rather than the forest imagery of the earlier record. Its themes focus on modern capitalism, gentrification and urban life. In 2020 they release their first live album, 21 Metres to Hebden Bridge, named after the distance between the pool table and stage at The Trades Club in Hebden Bridge, where it is recorded. Their third studio album, Forest Of Your Problems, follows in 2021.

EPs, singles and cover versions

By the time of their third studio album, the group has released four albums, two EPs and numerous singles. Their EP Violations, issued for Record Store Day 2018, is a limited vinyl release of cover versions of songs by The Fugs, Can, Joey Beltram and The Comateens.

Live activity and wider references

Snapped Ankles perform with improvised, theatrical shows that combine log-synths, electrified guitars and hand-made percussion. Their live work is described as aggressive and rhythmic, with a noisy, motorik approach and a strong focus on audience reaction. Between 2015 and 2016 they appear in Daniel Oliver’s participatory performance show Weird Seance, and in May 2017 they perform a live session on Marc Riley’s BBC 6 Music show.

Style and influences

Their sound combines primal, repetitive rhythms with white noise, post-punk structure and homemade instrumentation. They also draw on Morris dancing, Old Norse texts, Jean-Luc Godard, Lightning Bolt, Fela Kuti and London warehouse parties. The group describes some of their music as built from single-oscillator log-synths and as deliberately assembled rather than polished.

Reception

Come Play the Trees and Stunning Luxury both place in year-end critical lists. Come Play the Trees appears in top albums lists from Electronic Sounds and The Quietus in 2017, while Stunning Luxury appears in The Quietus’s Albums Of The Year 2019. Forest Of Your Problems is named Album of the Month by Rough Trade, and Loud and Quiet gives it an 8/10 rating.