INTERVIEW | THE SNUTS – JACK COCHRANE by Anne Kelly
After three consecutive albums and a relentless touring cycle that propelled them to the top of the UK charts, West Lothian’s The Snuts are gearing up for their next chapter. With a fresh tour kicking off this week and a new record promised for 2026, their latest single, ‘Summer Rain‘, marks the start of a more personal, guitar-driven era. Between back-to-back Zoom calls, frontman Jack Cochrane pauses to discuss the band’s evolution, the hard-won freedom of going independent, and why returning home to their roots was the best career move they ever made.
Summer Rain marks a new chapter for The Snuts. Was there a specific moment where you realised you wanted to move toward writing more personally?
Jack: Yeah, I think so. For our whole career, we’ve just been putting out records back-to-back; each one overlapped into the next. If we were touring one record, we’d be writing the next at the same time. After three in a row, we felt like we could reward ourselves with some time. We decided to get off the road for a bit, because when you’re living that fast-paced life, life at home almost moves even faster and you miss so much. We wanted to be with our families, catch up, and just feel a bit more human.
You’re all “family guys” now, aren’t you?
Jack: (Smiles) Yeah, we are. Just being at home, being present and stuff like that was really important for us. There was no real intention to say, “Right, we’re going to go write about that,” but having the luxury to live a little has been nice. Before we were living and writing at the same time which is quite an exhausting process. It’’s been nice to do that more on our terms. That was a big thing about what we do, to do it on our own terms. The songs just flowed from that. I never stop writing anyway – I don’t really have a choice.
You’ve suggested a new album is imminent. How does this sound evolve from the high energy of Millennials or the guitar-driven political nature of Burn The Empire?
It’s a little bit different. There’s a classic Snuts nature to the sonics, but there definitely a progression. ‘Summer Rain’ was probably the catalyst. There’s always one song, generally, the song that goes out first for us anyway and gives us the confidence to go, “Cool, I can speak about this, write like that, and play that way”.
In true Snuts fashion, though, I don’t think there’s a song on the record that sounds like any other. One thing I’m really excited about is that it’s a guitar record, but not in a way that borrows too much from the past. It’s a fresh take. While we were off the road, we talked about making something guitar-heavy, and I think that’s exactly what we’ve got.
Do we have a timeline for the release yet?
Jack: It’s happening this year. Our whole plan for 2026 was to get back to basics. We’re trying to be as human as possible with the release by making it spontaneous and building live moments around the music so people can actually be a part of it.
The tour starts in Lincoln next week. How are you feeling about getting back out there?
Jack: We’ve deliberately decided to break the “habitual touring” cycle that a lot of artists fall into. You know, the standard Manchester, London, Glasgow, Liverpool run. We love those places, but it was important to start the year by visiting places that are often overlooked. We’re stripping back the big production and giving ourselves something to build on again.
It also gives us the opportunity to “test drive” songs. Usually, we can’t play new stuff because it’s never finished in time! Now the record is done, we can hear the reaction to our faces rather than just through social media.
What can we expect from the new setlist?
Jack: It’ll be a nice combo. I am a grateful to be in a position where we’ve got three records out, toured them extensively and we know which ones people like. So we’re trying to remove our ego from that and make a setlist that is very fan orientated. It’ll be a mix of the staples from the first three records and maybe four or five brand-new ones.
You’re playing TRNSMT this summer, but there’s a bit of a “Scotland-sized hole” in your schedule otherwise. Can us Scots expect more dates?
Jack: Oh yeah, for sure. We’ve never liked being stuck in a set formation; we like to do things our own way. The Scottish dates will be coming in that same fashion. These shows are always special for us.
Your fourth fourth time at TRNSMT, is it?
Yeah, it is. It’s always sunny. We’re looking forward to TRNSMT. The new record is good high energy and I think it’s very guitar orientated so I think it’ll translate well. So we’ll see. Yeah, we’re looking forward to it though. We’ve managed to unshackle ourselves from everything that was holding us back.
How has going independent changed you? What are the biggest challenges versus the freedoms?
Jack: Everyone is competing for visibility now, which is something we stressed about when we were younger. Now, I’m quite relaxed. I try to do my talking “on the pitch” with the songs. I think if you have a solid fan base and the songs are good, they’ll always shine through. I have faith in that.
Are there any upcoming artists you’d love to work with?
Jack: I love Brooke Combe. I think she’s amazing. We’ve connected a few times at festivals and she’s just awesome.
Finally, if you could only pick 3 songs from The Snuts back catalogue to play live, what would you keep?
From Millenials I’d keep ‘Gloria’, for sure. Burn The Empire I’ll probably keep ‘Hallelujah Moment’. I like that song.
You wouldn’t leave ‘Glasgow’ , would you?
100%…but we’ve got to do it though.
From the first record, W.L., I’d probably keep ‘Always’. They’re just the easiest ones to play (laughs).
The Snuts head on tour this week starting at Lincoln’s Engine Shed on 12th March. With support coming from Brógeal, fans can expect a double whammy of Scottish talent on one stage.
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