Album Review

Ninetails – Slept But Did Not Sleep

• 20th Nov 2012

Ninetails are a highly rated four piece band from Liverpool. This is their second EP, following on from the well received Ghost Ride the Whip released earlier this year. They are a difficult band to define, with electronic loops and samples aplenty as well as more straightforward guitar based indie pop music within their repertoire. There may not be a great deal of vocal input in these five tracks but there is more than enough instrumental interest to keep things lively.

Maybe We opens the EP and the electronic synth sounds hum and soar. A delicate guitar flits in and out as the bass plays a steady line. Finally, three minutes or so in, the vocals arrive, deep and strong. A heavily distorted voice then appears amidst swirls of noise, giving a rather spooky ending to the track. It could really be a Pink Floyd outtake.

Body Clock is very different. It’s more of an indie pop track with sparkling guitars and a mellow sound. The drums come in and out and the lead guitar work is lovely. Rawdon Fever continues in similar vein, if slightly faster paced. Again the lead guitar work stands out and there is a great bass line too.

Unfortunately the next track Boxed does its best to kill the momentum that the EP has built up. It’s eight minutes of ambient electronic drone with little happening at all, before a fade into nothing. This one is, frankly, over long and rather dull. I reached for the skip button every time after the first play.

Things pick up again immediately though with the closing Mama Aniseed. This is a good, upbeat indie-pop track with great vocals, an interesting drum beat and is much more guitar focused. The sound works well and even at six minutes plus it doesn’t drag at all. Speeding up towards the end, the vocals become more strident as the guitar plays before the final electronic hum ends the track.

Ninetails have a very interesting sound and show a great deal of promise in this EP. Four of the five tracks are very good, and mark them out as a band worth watching. The lyrical content is minimal, making it rather stand out when it does come, but then you don’t need to say a lot when the message is focused.

Venue: Slept But Did Not Sleep
Support Band: Superstar Destrpyer Records