NINE BLACK ALPS
By Stuart Holmes | Sun, 05 July, 2009
AFTER the heady heights they reached with the release of their debut album, Everything Is, Nine Black Alps end their latest tour with a homecoming gig in the modest but complimentary setting of The Deaf Institute.
Now on the verge of releasing their third album, Locked Out From The Inside - possibly named in line with their current unsigned status - the band return with a fresh batch of songs to add to their collection.
They nonchalantly creep onto the stage and greet the respectably sized audience, opening with their recent single Buy Nothing, immediately followed by Not Everyone from their debut.
Despite being recorded many years apart, the contrast between these two songs is minimal, but there is an evident increase in the energy of Sam Forrest's vocal delivery.
Heavier Sound
After extensive touring of Everything Is, their follow up album Love/Hate was tamer in comparison, and arguably failed to meet fans' expectations as a result.
The band have now opted to go back to the heavier sound of their heyday with their new material.
Salt Water, Vampire In The Sun and Porcupine all stand out from the new offerings played tonight, and are distinctly grungier than their previous efforts, which works well when they are mixed into the set list.
Strangely motionless
Forrest is clearly under the influence tonight, but this is only apparent when he mutters slightly cringeworthy observations between songs. He appears perplexed throughout; quite possibly because of the strangely motionless crowd.
Despite this, the band commendably put everything they have into their performance, but the crowd doesn't latch on to their ferocity as audiences have done in the past.
Strong tracks such as Unsatisfied, Get Your Guns and Cosmopolitan still sound great live, but do sound slightly dated years after their initial release.
This seems almost ridiculous to say given how recent they are, but compared with the plethora of sounds currently available, they are clearly in keeping with the trend of guitar bands at that time.
Sudden Ending
The band end with Shot Down and cause some slight destruction upon finishing the song, but don't return for an encore, leaving the crowd to slide towards the exit when it soon becomes apparent that the gig is over.
Its quite possible that Nine Black Alps are victim of the drastic change in trends since they released their debut; however, it is also just as likely that the current heatwave has left the crowd exhausted come late evening.
Regardless of the reason, the band remain a powerful live act with an impressive back catalogue.
On the basis of tonight's airings, their new material could well rekindle the success they experienced when they first hit the scene, but for now the sparks between the band and their fans aren't quite flying.
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