The 9s are all about the riffs. Each of the 8 songs on this record have a ballsy, gutsy and powerful riff that slays through a pretty mediocre vocal. Sometimes bands stand out because the singer is the secret weapon, but I’d say The 9s work the opposite way round. There’s nothing that wrong with the vocals, they just don’t stand out. But just seconds into ‘Wrestling With Tigers’ you just know the guitarist(s) have talent. The onslaught is pretty relentless – the solo in ‘Sweet Victory’ makes the song, while the guitar work in ‘Snakes and Ladders’ makes the song quite impressive. There’s a garage rock feel to the band and while it’s not really my type of thing, you can tell there’s talent here. The musicianship alone means this record (available to download free from the link below) is worth a listen, even if everything else could do with a little bit of work.
