They may have been holed up in L.A with album producer Dave Sardy for the last year, but when Nine Black Alps take to the stage tonight looking surprisingly pale, it soon becomes clear they’ve ditched the li-lo’s and fed the rays straight into their new material. Still though, when dousing fans in vigorous feedback and their imminent punisher pop, NBA could slacken the jaws of the most ardent plaid-wearing disciples. ‘Not Everyone’ still sounds as brutal as ever, Sam Forrester’s guitar crunching like the audience’s teeth under the heaving strain of guitar distortion. Ace, in other words. New single ‘Burn Faster’ sounds like Mudhoney jamming Pet Sounds on a Seattle park bench, and ‘Unsatisfied’ still holds it’s arena-bound head high. It’s the new material they air tonight though, that suggests their sound has been shot through with some Phil Spector influenced magic-dust, aligning Ronettes harmonies with early Teenage Fanclub surf-pop. During b-side ‘Over The Ocean’ (taken from their Glitter Gulch E.P) Sam spits at the venue ceiling before opening fire with more savage guitar scowls, just to remind us their grunge-adoring spirit will certainly rear it’s head again on new album ‘Love/Hate’. They may not cover much of their acoustic back catalogue other than one newie, but Judging by tonight’s brilliant show, Sam and co. should be scaling the peaks anytime soon.
