Snog (band) - History

History

Snog's first album, Lies Inc., was released in 1992. Pieter Bourke joined the band soon afterwards, and Dear Valued Customer, which drew heavily on techno influences, was released in 1994. That same year, two side projects emerged: Soma was formed by Thrussell and Pieter Bourke — who has since worked with Dead Can Dance and Lisa Gerrard — and Thrussell formed solo project Black Lung. The first Black Lung release "Silent Weapons for Quiet Wars" included out-takes from Snog's long duration Australian CD singles, which had to be shortened in order to be also sold in Germany.

By 1997, the band had largely become a solo project for Thrussell, with guest musicians. Buy Me... I'll Change Your Life was a departure in style, featuring country western-style guitar and a cover of Lee Hazlewood's "Let the Little Flowers Grow". 1999's Third Mall from the Sun offered a blend of the style of the previous two albums, along with new influences. Thrussell described the change in musical styles between albums in a 1998 interview with Jester, from Sonic Boom Magazine,

"In the past Snog has written a lot of dance floor material and while it has been successful, I kind of felt that I needed to write something different. I intentionally try and do something new with every Snog release. I do not want to get caught up in the musical trap of remaking the same album over and over".

Third Mall from the Sun was followed by the remix album Relax into the Abyss.

In 2003, Beyond the Valley of the Proles was released. This album offered a more refined version of the style found on Buy Me. Its 2006 follow-up was, Snog vs. the Faecal Juggernaut of Mass Culture.

One notable feature about the band is Thrussell's lyrics — almost all songs contain themes of anti-capitalism, anti-fascism, anti-consumerism, individuality, and anti-big-brotherism.

The albums Third Mall from the Sun (1999), Relax into the Abyss (2000) and Beyond the Valley of the Proles (2003) featured artwork by Canadian artist Chris Woods, whose paintings lampoon the advertising tactics of major corporations such as McDonald's, The Gap, and Nike.

Snog supports copying of their music and many releases, depending on their recording label, are designated copyleft (or copyright-free) as indicated by a crossed out "©" symbol printed on their album cases.