Nine Black Alps - Nine Black Alps Album Review

Nine Black Alps
Nine Black Alps
Album Review

Such is major label paranoia these days that we haven't been given a full copy of Nine Black Alps' forthcoming LP Love/Hate. Instead the disc that arrives is a 6-track taster with the now-standard warnings about unique watermarkings and the like. Whether or not the security is justified is debatable, but considering there's really not that much decent music coming out of Manchester at the moment maybe Nine Black Alps are the beleaguered city's last great hope. So what are the omens? 'Burn Faster' is the obvious choice to lead the charge; it has MTV2 indelibly marked in large emochorus letters that spell out a manifesto - "burn faster, cut deeper, hit harder, fall further". Elsewhere, 'Bitter End' comes over like an asymmetrical-fringed Teenage Fanclub whereas 'Future Wife' sounds for all the world like a Wannadies B-side (make of that what you will). 'Pet Hate', meanwhile, spoils a delicately pretty chiming intro with grungy guitar stodge which sums up the overall feel of the CD - some rather nifty ideas that don't get the chance to shine as a result of overbearing sales-driven angst. A shame.

Owen Lloyd