Amazon.co.uk Review
Manchester is the new Seattle, if
Everything Is, the debut album from
Nine Black Alps is anything to go by: the work of four young men clearly well versed in the thick, stamped-pedal distortion and angst-wracked sentiments popular in the days of grunge, the raging likes of "Shot Down" and "Not Everyone" should be instant manna for a generation that still holds Kurt in such saintly regard.
The Alps know, however, that what separated Nirvana from their more prosaic kin was a skill for infectious melody. "Get Your Guns", then, successfully twins gnarled guitar roar with pouting frontman Sam Forrests nagging, melodically astute vocals, creating a neat tension between tunefulness and noise that extends through to more subtle moments like "Unsatisfied". Elsewhere, a vague 60s influence sometimes raises its shaggy head, as on the title track, where Forrest sneers "Everybody is a liar/ Everybody has a price" before careening into a verse that sounds like The Kinks "You Really Got Me" soaked in beer and kicked around a venue floor. Heavy music with a pop sensibility: its not rocket science, but in Nine Black Alps hands, such simple formulas become impressive alchemy --Louis Pattison
Description
Debut album from Manchester-based alternative rockers Nine Black Alps. Delivering heavy guitars, a slice of punk and often dark passionate lyrics, the band have already drawn obvious comparisons with the likes of Nirvana and the Pixies. Released on Island Records, the album follows two critically acclaimed singles 'Cosmopolitan' and 'Shot Down' which are both included here.