Scottish indie rock band The Snuts have released ‘In Motion’, the latest preview of their forthcoming fourth studio album Joy In Short Moments, due on 23 October through Happy Artist Records in partnership with Virgin Music Group. The new song explores themes of self awareness, change and personal growth as the band prepares to follow up its run of UK chart successes.
by Paul Cashmere
The Snuts have unveiled ‘In Motion’, the opening track from their forthcoming fourth studio album Joy In Short Moments, which will be released on 23 October. The single follows earlier previews of the album and comes after the Scottish quartet completed a sold out European tour that included headline dates in Paris, Amsterdam and Cologne, along with an appearance at Lollapalooza Berlin.
The release marks the next chapter for a band that has steadily built one of the strongest chart records among contemporary British guitar acts. Since forming in West Lothian in 2015, The Snuts have achieved three consecutive Top 3 UK albums, beginning with the Number 1 debut W.L. in 2021. Their latest project continues the band’s independent era through Happy Artist Records following their departure from Parlophone after the release of Burn The Empire.
Musically, ‘In Motion’ revisits the guitar driven sound that first established the band on the UK festival circuit while introducing the more reflective themes that underpin Joy In Short Moments. Frontman Jack Cochrane said the song was inspired by writer Yung Pueblo’s description of the phrase “in motion” as a way of understanding healing and personal development.
“I jotted the title down in my notebook and felt that a time would present itself during the writing process to explore what it could mean for me,” Cochrane said.
“Joy In Short Moments became as much a navigational instrument for life as it did a record. It allowed me to better understand where the decisions I make on a daily basis might be leading me.”
He said the song reflects a growing acceptance of life’s uncertainty.
“Within the track, I’m exploring the idea of making peace with the busyness and pace of life. I’m accepting impermanence in a way that previously would have terrified me. It also explores the idea of a life companion and the devotion you feel towards the person you’re travelling through the cosmos with.”
The album will contain 11 tracks, opening with ‘In Motion’ and featuring previously released songs including ‘Defibrillator’, ‘Summer Rain’ and ‘Motherlands’. It is the band’s first full length release since 2024’s Millennials, which became their third consecutive Top 3 album in the UK and the first to be issued independently through their own label.
The Snuts’ rise has been unusually consistent. After school friends Jack Cochrane, Joe McGillveray, Callum ’29’ Wilson and Jordan ‘Joko’ Mackay formed the band in West Lothian, early independently released recordings quickly established a following before the group signed with Parlophone in 2018.
Their debut album W.L. entered the UK Albums Chart at Number 1 in 2021, making The Snuts the first Scottish band since The View in 2007 to top the chart with a debut album. Follow up album Burn The Empire reached Number 3 in 2022 before the band elected not to renew its major label contract, instead establishing Happy Artist Records to retain greater creative control over future releases.
That decision has so far proved commercially successful. Millennials reached Number 2 on the UK Albums Chart, making The Snuts the first act since One Direction to record three consecutive Top 3 UK albums across three successive years. During the same period the group expanded its international audience through headline tours across Europe, Japan, Australia and North America, while also reaching another milestone by headlining Glasgow’s OVO Hydro.
With Joy In Short Moments, The Snuts appear to be balancing the direct guitar sound that first attracted audiences with more introspective songwriting. The new album follows a period in which many established guitar bands have sought greater independence from traditional label structures, reflecting broader changes in how artists finance, distribute and market their music.
The release of ‘In Motion’ provides another indication of the direction of the forthcoming record ahead of its October release. Whether the album continues the band’s run of Top 3 chart performances will become clearer later this year, but it already extends one of the more consistent album careers among Britain’s contemporary indie rock acts.
Tracklisting
In Motion
Youth Ain’t Easy
Defibrillator
Joy In Short Moments
PTS
Get Up, Get Out
Country Music
Summer Rain
Motherlands
Warsaw
Little Marathon Man
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