09

Nine Black Alps
Everything Is

In the era of the ipod, this is the first album to make one of these lists that I don’t actually have a CD copy of: rather this was ipodisified from someone else’s copy.

Personally, I don’t think that there is a single drop of originality anywhere here. I have heard it all before. In fact, is this 1995, or what? Grunge, baby. But hell, the more I listened, the more I realised that this wasn’t just grunge. It was bloody brilliant grunge. It beats most of the bands of 10-15 years ago at their own game. Simple power chord grunge songs, just of a consistently high quality throughout. I have listened to this loads, particularly when on the move (it is a great walking album). The lyrics are as generic as the music, as the album cover, as the lot. Generic. But the strength of the songs has made me come back time and time again. ‘Cosmopolitan’ is my personal favourite, but they are all great. Hell, they’re all the same, if one is great they all are. But who cares when it’s this much fun?

If I was still 16, I would have worshipped at the feet of Nine Black Alps as being utter Gods. As it is I am a little annoyed that a band that has so clearly plagiarised an era that I adored at the time (and is moreover clearly aimed at today’s crop of 16 year olds) can bypass my pretentious musical credibility radar and just rock my socks off. And break into my bloody top ten! Scandalously derivative but utterly brilliant at the same time.