Since seeing Niels Højgaard Sørensen and his band live at Manchester Punk Festival 2017 – playing the best set of the weekend no less – I’ve been eagerly anticipating whatever Stöj Snak would release next. Following the 2016 album ScreamerSongwriter, 1000 Daisies is a brand new 3-track EP from the Danish band that was released in September. It is available as a pay-what-you-want download but the important thing is that you pay something as all proceeds go to a worthy cause:
‘This EP was written and recorded for the fundraiser to save the venue 1000Fryd in Aalborg, Denmark. Having this venue around has been of great importance for us growing up in our small town and after being part of the scene at 1000Fryd for almost 20 years, it is still our favourite place to go as both audience and performers.’
The first song on the EP is its namesake, 1000 Daisies. Fast paced and lively from the outset, the combination of bouncy double bass, frantic acoustic guitar strumming and scratchy washboard instantly remind me how much I love the Stöj Snak sound. The music hooked me in and had my head nodding enthusiastically but it is the lyrics that really made their mark. 1000 Daisies is about how important DIY music venues are to musicians and music fans alike, especially in the punk scene, all over the world. Of course the song is a tribute to 1000Fryd in Denmark but the sentiment applies to all small venues and I’m sure Niels intended it that way. The lines that lead us into the chorus particularly hit home – ‘Without knowing the words we sing along, For the music belongs to everyone, There's so much hatred outside of these walls but, In this pit we pick up those who fall.’ What a gloriously powerful song.
Opening with some gentle acoustic guitar, the second song on the EP is much slower than the first. The combination of instruments is subtle but if you listen closely there is quite a variety, from xylophone to melodica! By its title and the opening line of ‘The world’s gone to shit’, I’m sure you can make an educated guess about what Election Night might be about. I don’t know much (anything) about Danish politics but I do know that the UK isn’t the only country where people are frustrated with those in power and so, like 1000 Daisies, Election Night is a song that is bigger than itself. The song is angry but in a subdued sort of way. The message conveyed is that we’re not happy with what our leaders are doing to our countries but we did what we could and voted, we’ll do it again in another four years – we won’t give up. Bringing this trio of tracks to its conclusion is Bitter Place. This is the longest of the three songs with a duration of almost 6 minutes and a reasonably lengthy instrumental introduction to kick things off. It’s progressive and almost eerie in sound as a guitar, this time electric, plays a haunting melody. A second layer of acoustic strumming comes in after too long and the volume increases a little. When Niels’ vocals do eventually come in, after over a minute, his voice feels softer and less strained than it perhaps usually does. Bitter Place is as sad as it is sincere – ‘You are not weak you’ve just been strong for too long, And all hope is not gone, But you just long for somewhere to belong.’ I feel like this song showcases a different side to Stöj Snak that I’ve not really heard before – certainly not on the other two songs on this EP. A sign of what we could potentially expect from the next Stöj Snak full-length perhaps?
You can support 1000Fryd now by downloading (and listening to) 1000 Daisies on Bandcamp. Also be sure to check out and like Stöj Snak on Facebook.
This review was written by Emma Prew.
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