It was back in November 2013 that we first introduced Glasgow’s dirty rock ‘n’ rollers The Amazing Snakeheads, their gritty, Glaswegian charm taking hold of us, transforming into sheer awe when we caught them live at gigs around their home town. “She’s more beautiful than any women I’ve ever met, screams Dale Barclay. “And she fucking knows it,”  he spits in the same breath. And with that proclaim of modern day love, we’re introduced to opening track ‘I’m a Vampire’ on Dominos latest album release, Amphetamine Ballads. 

Creating videos that delve into the debauchery of  a city after dark, The Amazing Snakeheads offer up sublime combinations of flailing guitar, bass lines and atmospheric percussion that quite literally sends shivers down your spine.

Horror-punk band Uncle John & Whitelock from Glasgow have been cited as influences by fans and critics, but since The Amazing Snakeheads refuse to list any concrete inspiration for their sound in interviews, we’re left delving into a dark catalogue of Glasgow bands to find any others.

And I suppose they don’t really need to let us in, tracks ‘Nighttime’ and latest single ‘Here it Comes Again’ give us balls and confidence that is truly typical of the Glaswegians. The latter sings nothing more than the title itself with a fast-driving beat and riff. Screams of ‘here it comes again’ in a collection of repetitive whales, shouts and echoes create a simplistic potent track that stands out from the rest.

Amphetamine Ballads continues in an exhilarating fashion with ‘Flatlining’; still as poignant as it was six months ago when it introduced us to the band, with its slow, creeping, trotting beat and distinctive reverb reigning supreme on the LP.

‘Where is My Knife’ opens with a belting riff, swapping places with a bass-led four bar beat, Barclay’s whales and distinctive Glasgow-twang lead us into an uncompromising four and a half minutes of rock.

Borrowing much of their style and bass-driven rock from The Sensational Alex Harvey Band who lit up the rock scene in Glasgow thirty years ago, ‘Memories’ is much like the fast-paced ‘Long Hair Music’ by that very band, this time The Amazing Snakeheads introduce brass instrumentals giving this track another level and a 2014 twist.

‘Heading for Heartbreak’ is as stripped back as they come. The lyrics more soft whispers than the angry whales we’ve been treated to thus far, merging nicely into closing track ‘Tiger By the Trail’ which is six and a half minutes of the same soft sound introducing more Spanish guitar parts sublimely well.

A poetic lullaby somehow seems like the perfect ending to this seedy, dark, non apologetic beast of rock ‘n’ roll. And quite frankly, amphetamine-twinned is exactly how ballads should be.

Words: Nadine Walker