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Written by Laura Hamlett Saturday, 25 February 2006 08:06

“Over this last year, there was a lot of hype and expectation of us,” admits Forrest.

We’ve been hearing it for years: The next wave of the British invasion is here. Only this time, it seems to be true. Last year’s breakout bands? Kaiser Chiefs and Bloc Party. And this year, bands like Nine Black Alps are quietly leading the pack, surging ahead of the Brit-pop we Americans have come to expect and feeding us back some of our own blood. Raised on a diet of Sonic Youth feedback and Nirvana grunge, Nine Black Alps present a song that’s familiar yet fresh, not easily pinpointed. Try it yourself: Give a listen to Everything Is, the band’s debut on Interscope, and try to guess the band’s origin. Give up? Try Manchester.

“Music that I personally like is the Beatles, Nirvana, the Pixies, and the Kinks,” reveals frontman Sam Forrest, “so obviously our music is going to sound like theirs. I don’t really like any Manchester bands. I like the Buzzcocks, but the rest—we don’t really need them.”

Upon its release in England last summer, Everything Is made a big splash, both critically and commercially. “Over this last year, there was a lot of hype and expectation of us,” admits Forrest. But it was all completely new to us, and we just kind of got caught up with it. We were kind of nervous about what people’s expectations were. People write ridiculous things about the ‘next Nirvana,’ which didn’t make much sense to us because we couldn’t stray out and we just jumped into this. Now we can just relax.”

Now, the band is forced to promote its debut all over again, to a different country of music fans. “It has been nearly a year since we finished it,” admits Forrest. “It’s kind of like starting again, which is a really nice thing to do. It’s kind of easy once you distance yourself from it. Not worry about it too much, enjoy it, kind of relax.”

They don’t mean it, of course. Relax? Nine Black Alps wouldn’t know how. Check out their raucous debut and see for yourself.