Album Review #1: Nine Black Alps

I own a guitar. Someday I will learn to play it the right way, without continuously looking at tabs. Someday.

But not today. I tend to overcompensate by acting like I know what I'm talking about when analyzing other people who play the guitar, or other various instruments. And I'm already a guy who tries to expose himself to as much (good) new music as possible all the time, and then spread the love. So naturally, one of my favorite websites is The Daily Vault, which you need to check out if you haven't already.

Anywho, until I learn the guitar, I'm going to pretend that I'm on their staff, and review music from time to time. Jason Warburg, if you're reading, consider this blog my audition.

On to review #1:

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Everything Is, by Nine Black Alps

This is the 2005 debut album from Nine Black Alps, a group of four guys from Manchester, UK, who have drawn numerous comparisons to Nirvana. A reviewer on Amazon puts it pretty well: "Were you ever listening to Interpol, or Maximo Park, or Franz Ferdinand, or the Killers and just thought to yourself, 'If only this band ROCKED a little bit harder...'?" Nine Black Alps fills that void for me. it's the ideal blend of indie rock and grunge.

I heard the fourth track, "Unsatisfied", on Pandora a little while back. Whenever it came on at work, I always found myself stopping and just enjoying the unbridled riffs throughout the song. The opening sequence, a very simple but expressive series of notes played by solo guitar, gives me goosebumps without fail. I love the contrast between that and the comparatively heavy chorus, which is even better.

Then I bought the album during my weekly pilgrimage to the local used CD store. I popped it in, and the first track, "Get Your Guns", blew me away, too. The intense, frenzied guitar riffs just really did it for me. The single of the album, "Cosmopolitan", is awesome as well, except I sometimes find it a tad repetitive. I love the fiery guitar and vocals in "Ironside", too.

OK, so they can rock. But the acoustic tracks like "Behind Your Eyes" and "Intermission" (another favorite) give the album another dimension. They break up the album nicely, giving it varied volume and pace.

My only complaint is that they fall in love with feedback sometimes. Especially the case with "Everybody Is", where the middle section is so chock full of feedback that I inevitably hit the "next" button so my ears don't bleed.

All in all, though, Everything Is, without trying to be too cute, provides some great head-banging driving music, which I love to do after a crappy day at work. The album art is always fun to figure out, too. A faceless rabbit smoking a cigarette? Those crazy Europeans...

Plus they share their acronym with the National Basketball Association, which gives them bonus points in my book.

Grade: A-