''Something Green and Leafy This Way Comes'' is the fourth studio album by Canadian

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier pu ...

band SNFU. The album was released in 1993 on

Epitaph Records Epitaph Records is an American independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, most acts signed to the label were punk and pop punk acts, while there are many post-hardcore and em ...

, the first of three SNFU releases on this label.

Chris Walter Chris Walter was a photographer of classic rock and pop musicians, who began working in London in the early 1960s, photographing mainly rock musicians. He initially began the company South London Photo Agency (later The London Photo Agency), co ...

. ''What No One Else Wanted to Say''. Vancouver: GFY Press, 2014 (second edition), pg. 129. Despite being released during the height of the third wave of punk rock by the revival's best-selling independent label and selling modestly well, the album was not commercially successful.

Background and recording

After breaking up in 1989, SNFU reformed to embark upon the Wrong Way Down Memory Lane reunion tour late in 1991 to support their posthumous compilation album '' The Last of the Big Time Suspenders'' on Cargo Records.''Open Your Mouth and Say...Mr. Chi Pig''

Film, Dir: Sean Patrick Shaul, 2010. The band had originally planned to disband again after the tour; but the concerts were successful beyond their expectations, with greater attendance and merchandise sales than the band had experienced while active. SNFU met Bad Religion guitarist

Brett Gurewitz Brett W. Gurewitz (born May 12, 1962), nicknamed Mr. Brett, is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist of Bad Religion. He is also the owner of the music label Epitaph Records and a number of sister labels. He has produced albums ...

at a show in

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, and Gurewitz expressed an interest in signing SNFU to his

independent label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

Epitaph Records. The band reformed after the tour with a new lineup, relocated from

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anc ...

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. Th ...

, and signed with Epitaph early in 1993. With new bassist Rob Johnson and new drummer Dave Rees, the band spent late 1992 and 1993 writing the material that would appear on ''Something Green and Leafy This Way Comes''. The songwriting process was influenced in part by the direction that guitarists

Marc Marc or MARC may refer to: People * Marc (given name), people with the first name * Marc (surname), people with the family name Acronyms * MARC standards, a data format used for library cataloging, * MARC Train, a regional commuter rail system o ...

and Brent Belke had taken in their new melodic rock band the Wheat Chiefs. SNFU demoed the material at Desolation Sound Studio in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...

, and two tracks from this session later appeared on their self-released " Beautiful, Unlike You and I" single. At Gurewitz's recommendation, they arranged to record their new album with producer Donnell Cameron, known for his work with Rocket From the Crypt,

NOFX NOFX () is an American punk rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1983. Vocalist/bassist Fat Mike, guitarist Eric Melvin and drummer Erik Sandin are original founding and longest-serving members of the band, who have appeared on every r ...

, Rancid, Bad Religion, and Pennywise. The band traveled to Los Angeles to record with Cameron at Westbeach Recorders in August 1993. Very early in the recording sessions, Cameron checked into rehab for drug addiction. After brief deliberation, the band opted to continue the sessions with Cameron's engineer Joe Peccerillo acting as producer. SNFU biographer

notes their regret for continuing without Cameron and mild musical clashing with Peccerillo, who did not have a punk rock background. The band experimented in the studio, taking advantage of Epitaph's comparatively large budget for the session. Rees and Peccerillo used

tubular bells Tubular bells (also known as chimes) are musical instruments in the percussion family. Their sound resembles that of church bells, carillon, or a bell tower; the original tubular bells were made to duplicate the sound of church bells wit ...

on the track "Seven Minutes Closer to Death", and the group utilized an expanded range of guitar tones throughout the recording.

Release

The album was released in November 1993. SNFU toured extensively behind the record, including stints with Bad Religion and

Green Day Green Day is an American rock band formed in the East Bay of California in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, together with bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt. For most of the band's career, they have been a ...

in 1994 that represented some of the band's largest shows in their career. They filmed a promotional video for "Reality Is a Ride on the Bus", their second music video and first in six years. The album sold modestly well, but SNFU's success was overshadowed by Epitaph label mates like

The Offspring The Offspring is an American rock band from Garden Grove, California, formed in 1984. Originally formed under the name Manic Subsidal, the band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Bryan "Dexter" Holland, lead gui ...

and Rancid, whose records went platinum. The album was reissued as a vinyl LP in 2018 by Godbox Records in

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Reception

''Something Green and Leafy This Way Comes'' received a mixed response from audiences and critics. Walter wrote that "fans did not immediately grasp the experimental tone of the album, and it would never get the props that it deserved." Jack Rabid from ''

The Big Takeover ''The Big Takeover'' is a bi-annual music magazine published out of New York City since May 1980 by critic Jack Rabid. History Establishment Jack Rabid and Dave Stein began publishing ''The Big Takeover'' in May 1980 as a fanzine dedicated to N ...

'' called the album "average" while noting that it demonstrates that the band "can still rock hard and tight." Rabid ultimately assessed the release as " good, solid punk/hardcore album for a time where there aren't that many of those." At the time of Chinn's death in July 2020, ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

'' critic Gregory Adams praised the "booming, forlorn sensitivity" of the song "Painful Reminder" in particular. (Chinn also recorded a solo version of this song for his final release, the "Hurt" 7" credited to Mr. Chi Pig.) Other reviewers were more critical. Writing for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

, critic Vincent Jeffries describes the album as a "90-degree turn" from

into

pop punk Pop punk (or punk pop) is a rock music genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop. It is defined for its emphasis on classic pop songcraft, as well as adolescent and anti- suburbia themes, and is distinguished from other p ...

, and states that " gets so bad on near-ballads like 'Joni Mitchell Tapes' that listeners might confuse one of punk's most revered bands with a run-of-the-mill '90s post-grunge knockoff." Jeffries ultimately assesses the record as "some of NFU'sleast enjoyable material," awarding the record two out of five stars. After Chinn's 2020 death,

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749 ...

hardcore band Comeback Kid released a cover version of "Reality Is a Ride on the Bus" via

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online audio distribution platform founded in 2007 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with headquarters in Oakland, California, US. On March 2, 2022, Bandcamp ...

in tribute. They donated proceeds to the Vancouver charity Ray-Cam Co-operative Centre.

Track listing

All songs written by

Ken Chinn Kendall Steven Chinn (October 19, 1962 – July 16, 2020), known under the stage name Mr. Chi Pig, was a Canadian punk rock vocalist and artist born in Edmonton and long residing in Vancouver. He fronted the hardcore punk band SNFU from 1981 un ...

Marc Belke Marc Belke (born February 1, 1965 in Edmonton, Alberta) is a Canadian musician and former radio personality. He played guitar in the punk and alternative rock bands SNFU and The Wheat Chiefs, and sang lead vocals in the latter. He was later a ...

, Brent Belke, Rob Johnson and Dave Rees

Personnel

;SNFU * Mr. Chi Pig (

) - vocals * Marc "Muc" Belke - guitar * Brent "Bunnt" Belke - guitar * Rob "Da Buck" Johnson - bass * Dave "Davey-Boy" Rees - drums ;Guests * O. - guitar (track 2) * Joe Peccerrilo - tubular bells (track 15)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Something Green And Leafy This Way Comes 1993 albums SNFU albums