{"id":23281,"date":"2014-04-23T19:07:00","date_gmt":"2014-04-23T19:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/album-review-nine-black-alps-candy-for-the\/"},"modified":"2018-03-17T15:35:08","modified_gmt":"2018-03-17T15:35:08","slug":"album-review-nine-black-alps-candy-for-the","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/album-review-nine-black-alps-candy-for-the\/","title":{"rendered":"Album Review: Nine Black Alps – Candy for the Clowns"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Manchester lads Nine Black Alps<\/strong> couldn\u2019t have enjoyed a more emphatic entrance to the music scene back in 2005 when, after only a handful of shows, they were snapped up by Island Records before embarking on a helter-skelter journey of high profile tours and festivals across the world.<\/p>\n

Their momentum slowed considerably a few years later, but the indie-grunge outfit maintained a consistent output, and now reach their fifth studio album in \u2018Candy for the Clowns\u2019<\/em>. The new record is solid evidence that, although the band\u2019s time in the limelight may have been short-lived, it wasn\u2019t a fluke.<\/p>\n

The loud and groaning Smashing Pumpkins-style riffs in \u2018Novokaine\u2019<\/em> immediately take you back to the early noughties, where British guitar bands were still all over the charts and stamping their identity on a generation rediscovering rock music. It\u2019s cool and moody, but full of vigour and panache, like the theme-tune to a Bond film directed by Guy Ritchie.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Upcoming single \u2018Supermarket Clothes\u2019 <\/em>is a stone-cold modern Brit-Rock anthem: big-sounding indie with a beefy and euphoric chorus, driven along to a punk rock beat. It\u2019s the kind of song that would have had kids wearing sun-hats and shades jumping on each other\u2019s shoulders covered in sun-kissed rain and singing every single word \u2013 if only it wasn\u2019t written ten years too late.<\/p>\n

Nine Black Alps<\/strong> are wonderfully adept at bringing together their varied influences in such a cohesive fashion as to make them almost indistinguishable from each other. \u2018Destroy Me\u2019<\/em> fuses the Manc swagger and bravado of Oasis<\/strong> seamlessly with the unhinged frenzy of Nirvana<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

But sometimes \u2018Candy for the Clowns\u2019 <\/em>is less conducive towards reminiscence, and more towards resurrecting repressed and painful memories. Remember those dreary, lackadaisical indie songs that went nowhere and said nothing but just kinda gave you a headache and your older sibling inexplicably loved them? ‘Take Me Underground’<\/em> is this all over.<\/span><\/p>\n

Elsewhere, \u2018Blackout\u2019<\/em> is total Stone Roses worship (I\u2019m from the camp that regards this description as negative but hey, take it how you will) and a few of the other tracks just never really get off the ground. \u2018Not in My Name\u2019<\/em> is pretty much just generic, typical chart rock lacking the charm and spirit found elsewhere on the album.<\/p>\n

Nine Black Alps<\/strong> are a decent band and despite often being regarded as a flash in the pan, their popularity and extensive fanbase is absolutely justified. Maybe I\u2019m wrong but I feel their time is passed and no matter how good moments of \u2018Candy for the Clowns\u2019<\/em> are it\u2019s not enough to regain their former status. It\u2019s good fun nonetheless and will be enjoyed equally by both fans and those yearning for Brit-rock’s heyday.<\/p>\n

3\/5<\/p>\n

‘Candy for the Clowns’<\/em> by Nine Black Alps<\/strong> is out now on Hatch Records<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Nine Black Alps<\/strong> links: Website<\/a>|Facebook<\/a>|Twitter<\/a><\/p>\n

Words by Alex Phelan (@listen_to_alex<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Manchester lads Nine Black Alps couldn\u2019t have enjoyed a more emphatic entrance to the music scene back in 2005 when, after only a handful of shows, they were snapped up by Island Records before embarking on a helter-skelter journey of high profile tours and festivals across the world. Their momentum slowed considerably a few years […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23282,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,8181],"tags":[5879,10206,8823],"class_list":["post-23281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-album-reviews","category-post","tag-album-reviews","tag-candy-for-the-clowns","tag-nine-black-alps"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAlbum Review: Nine Black Alps - Candy for the Clowns - Already Heard Staging<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Manchester lads Nine Black Alps couldn\u2019t have enjoyed a more emphatic entrance to the music scene back in 2005 when, after only a handful of shows, they\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Album Review: Nine Black Alps - 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