Staff Reviews

Nine Black Alps - Candy for the Clowns

Review by Joe Goggins

Candy for the Clowns is very good fun; straight-up rock and roll, with no interest in pretension.»

Buy now from:

After a 3 year wait Nine Black Alps finally returned with their fourth studio album 'Sirens. Now in 2014 the band show no signs of stopping by announcing details of their 5th album 'Candy For The Clowns'. With core members Sam Forrest (vocals, guitar), David Jones (guitar), James Galley (drums, vocals) and bass player Karl Astbury, the band had retained their distinctive and energetic sludge, grunge-rock sound albeit with a tighter and more dynamic style. The band were formed in 2003 in Manchester, UK and were quickly signed by Island Records after just a handful of local shows and an almighty scramble amongst the music industry. Recent single 'Novokaine' released at the end of last year to coincide with their 10 year anniversary, and championed by Edith Bowan, (6 Music), John Kennedy (XFM) and Frank Skinner (Absolute Radio) was the first taster of the new record. It's a far more distorted and rockier affair that harks back to their earlier albums 'Everything Is and Love / Hate'. Other tracks such as their upcoming single 'Supermarket Clothes' capture a more British sound for the band but overall 'Candy for the Clowns' is an addictive balance of summer college rock and surf-pop. It will be the first album to be released on new Leeds label Hatch Records. Produced by Nine Black Alps and mixed / engineered by Mark Winterburn at Edge Recording Studios, it's the clear sign of a band returning to form.
description from www.roughtrade.com