Indiana Jones was introduced to the world in the year 1981, and so was Canada’s SNFU. Both traveled the world having oddball adventures, searching for mysterious artifacts, fighting Nazis on tanks – and both had plenty of influence on the future of their art forms. Raiders re-invented the action-adventure genre the way SNFU re-invented hardcore. They also have in common imitators who could never capture their inherent silliness. What they don’t have in common is the habit of releasing bullshit – there is no bad SNFU record. Nevertheless, we ranked them and put one in last place. Don’t bother trying this with Jones.
8. Never Trouble Trouble Until Trouble Troubles You (2013)
It would be easy to dismiss the only Belke-less SNFU album for that fact alone, and that’s probably what we’re doing. Still thrashing and tight ‘til Tuesday, the guitars are missing the brothers’ radioactive/mutant quality, much easier to notice when it’s gone. The late Mr. Chi Pig is belting out his cutesy horror lyrics nearly as well as ever and, coming out of a rough period of addiction and homelessness, that’s a more impressive miracle than getting a crowd to make really tiny fish sandwiches or healing some jerk with leprosy. Let’s hope he gets resurrected faster than this other guy.
Play it again: “Donald the Dead”
Skip it: “Speed Weenie”
7. FYULABA (1996)
Geography dictates that there are countless similarities between Vancouver and Seattle. Trees and mountains are everywhere, it won’t stop raining, and hard drugs could feasibly be elected Mayor. This is a very Vancouver album – green and grimy and soaking wet and Bif Naked is here – except for the song that takes place in Virginia with Lorena Bobbitt cutting her husband’s cheating doodle off. That’s cool, but it’s a 3,000-mile jump in location. Was no one paying attention to continuity?
Play it again: “Gaggle of Friends”
Skip it: “Charlie Still Smirks”
6. Something Green and Leafy This Way Comes (1993)
There weren’t many SNFU shows without “Reality is a Ride on the Bus” or “Painful Reminder” in the setlist, and there are other gems on this album too – but when an emergency rehab stint a few days into recording sidelines your producer, you may lose some of the sonic intensity you were hoping would be your top cherry. The blazing Belke attack is somewhat neutered, and that snare drum is bordering on Snapcase. Chi is, as always, a suitably jovial/disturbing host.
Play it again: “Joni Mitchell Tapes”
Skip it: “Seven Minutes Closer to Death”
5. If You Swear, You’ll Catch No Fish (1986)
Fresh off of pretty much inventing melodic hardcore, these freaks are already fucking with the formula. “What if Jerry Lee Lewis was Darby Crash?” seems to be the seed of “The Devil’s Voice,” while “I Forget” sounds as if AC/DC had their first show at the 9:30 Club. The only problem here is the blatant lie in the title – you had at least one grandparent who both cursed a blue streak and could easily snatch up a rainbow trout with their bare hands.
Play it again: “Black Cloud”
Skip it: “Welcome to My Humble Life of Disarray”
4. Better Than a Stick in the Eye (1988)
Leading off with an ad for their new venture as futon salesmen, SNFU are all business on this record. Sure, for this band a G.I. Joe coming to life and raging with murderous penis envy is all in a day’s work, and laying the groundwork for the entire future of skate punk is something you can just do whenever you feel like it. Seriously, go out to your garage right now and try it. Just watch out for that old box of action figures.
Play it again: “Time to Buy a Futon”
Skip it: “Postman’s Pet Peeve”
3. …And No One Else Wanted to Play (1985)
One of those “instant classics,” a term so overused it lost all meaning until it was brought back to life by the writing of this article. This instant classic hits the ground not only running but already chasing down prey – it’s speedy, it’s thrashy, it’s gnarly, it’s… catchy?! Sure is, and we can still hear the influence of this album today. Also noteworthy is that this band is from Edmonton, which until now we thought was a fictional city like Metropolis or Saskatoon.
Play it again: “Loser at Life/Loser at Death”
Skip it: “Bodies in the Wall”
2. The One Voted Most Likely to Succeed (1995)
The mid-’90s were a pivotal time for SNFU. Punk records were finally sounding like they were made in a real studio with real engineers, which was good because at the time they were selling an absurd amount of them while writing the catchiest shit ever. This was also a time when science was the closest they’d ever gotten to figuring out what the fuck is happening on any of the band’s album covers. Looking at them for an extended period is discouraged, you’d have a better chance of staying sane if you were taking care of a remote mountain hotel for the winter.
Play it again: “Drunk on a Bike”
Skip it: “Manuel”
1. In the Meantime and In Between Time (2004)
At the time of its release, many had forgotten about SNFU or assumed they had petered out the way bands do. Unexpectedly, after eight long silent years, they unleash this blast of speed, riffage, and absurdity that tears through town like a tornado. The playing is sphincter-tight and Chi Pig is in top form on both the page and the mic. When those burners are firing, they can go places that no one else can. If we have the guts, they’re happy to take us along for the ride.
Play it again: “I Think Fine Art’s Fine”
Skip it: If you don’t care for fine art.