ON THE RISE
As they prepare to unveil their fourth album, ‘Joy In Short Moments’, The Snuts have spoken with NME about how stepping away from touring gave them the chance to reflect on some of life’s biggest challenges and bring greater attention to mental health.
Their first album since 2024’s upbeat ‘Millenials’ follows a rare break from the road over the past year. During that time, frontman Jack Cochrane also experienced a major change in his personal life as he welcomed his first child.
Along with getting used to fatherhood, the singer began thinking about deeper questions that the demanding touring lifestyle had previously left little room to consider. His reflections on growing up, dealing with loss and understanding what success really means gradually found their way into his writing, eventually shaping the direction of the band's more personal new album.
Fans were first introduced to the album earlier this year through ‘Summer Rain’, an emotional track exploring postnatal depression and the “fear of the future”. They later returned during the summer with the more hopeful ‘Defibrillator’, encouraging listeners to move beyond negative thoughts about themselves and find comfort in connecting with other people.
Speaking to NME about the creative shift behind their fourth record, Cochrane explained: “By taking a conscious break from life on the road and making records, my world opened up to let so much more of the real world in,” he said. “For the first time I was living then writing, not writing while trying to live.”
He also described how the change helped the band approach recording differently, adding: “It unlocked a new process that the band had been crying out for,” he continued. “The studio sessions were set up to allow us to be friends and not colleagues. Distraction and external pressures were completely eradicated from the recording environment, allowing us to trust our gut and have the conversations we needed to as humans.”
In the remainder of the interview, Cochrane also discusses his new role as an ambassador for mental health charity CALM and talks about starting a podcast designed to encourage more artists to speak honestly about their personal struggles.
NME: Hi Jack, congratulations on the new album. You’ve said that this record was about addressing the topics that you previously tried to hide from. What kinds of questions did you find yourself confronting?
Jack Cochrane: “I would say mainly, ‘What do I need to be happy?’… Eeek! It’s a big one I know, but having set out with the title ‘Joy In Short Moments’, I was able to spend my time searching for them and allow joy to do what joy does: compound and relieve the stresses of the modern world.”
That’s not the easiest question to find yourself confronting. Did you manage to find any answers along the way?
“Ultimately yes. With the completion of this record I was able to find a much happier healthier version of myself I had been so long yearning for.”
The album sees you deal with new themes, but musically we also see you return to the guitar-led sound from your early days. Did revisiting those roots make you notice how much has changed since you were starting out?
“For sure. We were able to remove any snobbery from the process. We’re no longer new kids on the block and with that came a new found ability to be really honest about the kind of noises we wanted to make and the type of artists that had originally inspired us.”
This album goes hand in hand with you becoming an ambassador for CALM and launching your own podcast dedicated to checking in with fellow artists. Why was it important for you to get involved in the conversation about mental health?
“I think conversations and role models are absolutely essential for young people. I wanted to have more and do my best to be one. Every song on this record was born out of unfiltered, open and honest conversation.”
From talking to people on your podcast, including Louis Tomlinson, and using your platform to open up this dialogue, is there anything interesting that you’ve noticed?
“I think that more often than not, young men are finding it difficult to combat the struggles they are facing in this modern world. To me it feels like there are less and less spaces and opportunities to have meaningful, healing conversations…”
Having had those conversations yourself and explored them on the album, it must be somewhat daunting to now put it out into the world. Is there something that you hope people take from it?
“I’d like people to feel less alone after hearing the record and the themes intertwined with it. I think music is more than just heartbreak and I hoped in the writing of this record I would be able to highlight some more universally relevant topics.”
You have your headline tour coming up next month. What can we expect from the shows?
“Big smiles and big sound all round! It will be the most self assured Snuts tour to date.”
‘Life In Short Moments’ is out now Happy Artist Records in partnership with Virgin Music Group. Their UK and Ireland tour kicks off next month with an opening night in Dundee. Visit here for tickets and check out a list of tour dates below.
NOVEMBER 2026
19 – Dundee, Livehouse
20 – Aberdeen, Beach Ballroom
21 – Edinburgh, Corn Exchange
23 – Dunfermline, Alhambra Theatre
24 – Newcastle, O2 City Hall
26 – Sheffield, Octagon Centre
27 – Nottingham, Rock City
29 – Norwich, UEA
30 – Hull, City Hall
DECEMBER 2026
1 – Bristol, Prospect Hall
3 – Leeds, O2 Academy
4 – Manchester, O2 Victoria Warehouse
8 – Birmingham, O2 Academy
9 – Portsmouth, Guildhall
10 – London, O2 Academy Brixton
JANUARY 2027
26 – Belfast, Limelight
27 – Galway, Róisín Dubh
28 – Dublin, Academy
ON THE RISE
Imagine listening to a song that sounds like it should be in a movie. Now imagine listening to a whole album of songs like that. This is the shared experience of many who listen to Voltaire’s Ghost.
Their latest single, “‘Till The Break Of Day” is a hauntingly beautiful track that gives listeners another taste of the sounds they can find on the band’s album Black Petals Fallen. The album is available now exclusively on Bandcamp digitally and on vinyl.
Like other songs in the band’s discography,“‘Till The Break Of Day” was first conceived as a demo by guitarist/producer Magnus and transformed into something new through drumming from Josh Eggstaff and vocals from Ruby Juhl. The lyrics of the song Magnus wrote were not changed and he credits Ruby’s delivery of them for taking the song to the next level.
“It’s amazing how much phrasing makes a difference in a song. The way she approached it vocally and slid between the riff gave the song a totally different feel.” said Magnus.
The track echoes feelings of romanticism amongst chaos and captures these feelings through a cinematically immersive soundscape. Ruby’s angelic vocals take center stage and pave the way for a guitar led instrumental break that envelops listeners in the picture the band is painting.
“The song is about a fleeting connection. And people are connecting to it emotionally, more than they have with some of our other songs so that’s been a pleasant surprise.” said Magnus.
Voltaire’s Ghost’s music has been described as Dark Pop and Cosmic Goth as they blend elements of Rock, Gothic, and Classical. They know people are attracted to these elements as they see them as a form of escape from the real darkness that comes from living life. Fans of this will be happy to know they have another single coming on October 16th. Releasing in celebration of Halloween, Magnus described it as a “rock and roll ghost story.”
“Stuff like that is awesome. It’s cool and more dramatic.” said Ruby.
“You can’t just have darkness though. There has to be hope in it, and longing. We try to paint a more complex emotional palette than just darkness.” said Magnus.
This calls back to the subject matter of “‘Till The Break Of Day” and the bittersweet romanticism it captures. The song details how even with life circumstances and fate trying to intervene, love will still try to prevail.
“Love is human nature. It’s something we’re always going to be talking about and thinking about.” said Ruby.
Voltaire’s Ghost has more music, videos and surprises for their listeners on the way as the fall season sets the ideal backdrop for the lifting melodies and haunting imagery of love and loss flowing across their album.
“‘Till The Break Of Day” from the album Black Petals Fallen is available on streaming services now and the album is available for purchase digitally and on vinyl on Bandcamp.
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The Starlight PR Team thanks Voltaire's Ghost for taking the time to speak with us.
