What do you get when you throw together members of A, Hundred Reasons and earthtone9? The Lucky Nine, silly! Shedding their day jobs for an altogether more rocking side-project, this mucky sextet have been lauded around the mainstream press for, well, what they've done previously. This five track EP is the fruits of the band's first labour and is self-produced to give it even more of a family feel. However, just because it has members of bands that have collectively sold (probably) more than a million records doesn't make this EP a must listen - we all know that you can have the power of the press behind you and the end product can ultimately be a huge letdown. Add to that fact that side-projects very rarely eclipse the day job and The Lucky Nine are already up against it. But, would you Adam and Eve it, this is actually pretty damn good.
Hundred Reasons frontman Colin Doran handles vocals on this EP and he uses his distinctive voice well to switch from the melodic hooks and choruses that litter this release to a more piercing scream. Certainly better than the last Hundred Reasons record, Doran seems more comfortable giving it a bit of welly rather than farting around singing songs that sound the same. Further catty comments aside, this is quite a heavy record when you consider A are cheeky scamps who sing about snowboarding. Sometimes. Daniel P Carter's guitar knows no bounds and rumbles and roars, while Richie Mills (formerly of Cable) handles drum duties in fine fashion. Combined, it makes tracks like 'Hibernate' and 'Jornada' sound pretty good - the latter especially witnesses some pretty amazing drumming.
I very much doubt The Lucky Nine will sell as many records as A or Hundred Reasons, but for a fun side-project the band have passed the test. If you gave your random Hundred Reasons fan this disc, not telling them who was in the band, they'd probably struggle to tell you what band members made up this band - it's a pretty good departure, making this CD worthwhile to people who, like me, got bored of Hundred Reasons after the first couple of singles. This will by no means change the world, but in the short term at lest it's a pretty fun listen.
www.theluckynine.com
Mighty Atom
Paul
