For Fans Of: The Cure, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Depeche Mode
Glasgow’s The Ninth Wave are today’s most intoxicating new band, creating dark yet majestic post-punk laced with stealth pop hooks with a firm DIY ethos.
Through both their music and image, they not only embody the eclectic 80s, but also the future of New Wave. While their sound can be linked to the likes of The Cure and Depeche Mode, their visual aesthetics scream neopunk as they mingle leather, chains and bondage gear with suits and mullets. Such a combination has lead to collaborations with fashion iconoclasts including Saint Laurent’s Hedi Slimane and London’s most disruptive new designer, Charles Jeffrey to enhance their vision.
They released their debut EP Reformation in September 2017, marked by a raucous gig whereby they created a makeshift stage from disused palettes in a railway arch. Produced by Dan Austin (Placebo and The Pixies), Reformation captures the synth-fuelled 80s ethic with a contemporary indie-rock twist.
Speaking of the glorious title track, Clash called it “stunning”, while frontman Haydn Park-Patterson explained “Reformation is based on the idea of wishing you could be made into a better version of yourself, but being too focused on your own self destruction to let anybody actually help you. Alongside this it deals with the problem of needing to conform to a set out plan, a life of expectancy and the way that things should be done just because that’s what everyone else does or says.”
Eight months later in April 2018, they released follow-up EP Never Crave Attention, which built on their nostalgic noise with more rock oomph in its four tracks. In November, they went on to release third EP FLESCH. It features alternative mixes of ‘Reformation’ and ‘New Kind of Ego’ taken from their previous release, along with two new tracks: ‘A Wave Goodbye To The People Who Said I’d Win’ and ‘Sometimes The Silence Is Sweeter’.
This year, they’re bringing out their debut album Infancy, however, its release is being split in half. The first instalment, Infancy Part 1, came in April, and was rated 4/5 by Indie Is Not A Genre and 8/10 by The Line of Best Fit, while The Skinny commented “Avoiding staticity, each track fluidly melts a sundry of stylistic influences, culminating a half-record full of true artistic intent.” Part 2 is due on 15th November, with two lead singles already gracing the ether: ‘Imitation’ and ‘Human Behaviour’.
Speaking to the BBC, Park-Patterson said “The way the world is, listening to music now, everyone gets bored. Easily. We took a year to make the album and then if we put the whole thing out, in maybe a month or so, it’s like people expect to hear something else. We took a year to make, so it should take a year to put it out, I guess is what we felt.”
After already having toured with the likes of CHVRCHES, The Blinders and Yonaka, as well as marked their territory across the local Scottish live scene, The Ninth Wave have perfected their performances. As Dork says, “From using bins as percussion to an unmissable mannequin that’s set to feature in their next steps – a Ninth Wave show is unlike any other.”
Website – theninthwave.online
Facebook – /TheNinthWaveOfficial
Twitter – @THENINTHWAVE_