What’s that coming over the hill? A monster? Naah, it’s a fresh new Bites For Starters for ya – cramming the best in box-fresh new music and sliding it under your noses as quick as we blooming well can. If it’s getting our ears up and out of our seats, we’ll be bringing it to you (that’s a promise).
The Ninth Wave are a band primed to be huge. From the shimmering glam exterior to the menacing chimes that ring out, there’s something about the every move they make that just screams important. Forming and rising out of the bustling world that is Glasgow, their potent debut single ‘Reformation’ pointed squarely at where they stand – a fresh band who’ve made their name around the city and are ready to take over. Now that’s ambition we ‘ruddy well like over here.
It’s blazoned all over their debut ‘Reformation EP’, out today and searing with sky-high ambition. Taking the 80s sheen of nostalgic pop-style that came with The Cure and repurposing it for a new generation, it’s a four-track manifesto for the heights The Ninth Wave are bound to smash. With a penchant for decorating their headline shows for a full experience of the senses, they’re not just a band looking to play a few nifty nights, but want to shake things good and proper.
There’s a cinematic post-punk storm a-coming, so prepare for it all with our Bites on The Ninth Wave below, right after this starter course of new single ‘Liars’.
It’s been a bit of a busy year for The Ninth Wave, and the reaction so far has helped inspire them to go even bigger
We’ve had an intense year. Reformation got a really good response and everything started moving a lot faster after it came out. We never slowed down but the support we have gotten gave us a little shove to take it up a notch and work harder than ever.
They all met in Glasgow, and the tightness of the city meant that it really was inevitable that they’d come together eventually
Haydn and Elina started writing songs together during second year of uni. Because of the way Glasgow is and the small size of it, everyone knows who everyone is, so we all knew who each other were through friends of friends. That’s how we had met Louise and Lewis. The band then started evolving, both the lineup and the way our songs have been sounding. Over the last few months, everything has just fallen into the right place and we’ve been able to spend a lot of time on new songs and ideas and work on a lot of things we shoved to the bottom of the pile before.
There’s three pretty clear steps to their lives at the moment
Our lives pretty much consist of rehearsing, working day jobs and being in the pub.
The band have found real liberation in the city of Glasgow, with the city really playing a key
role in the attitude and swagger that flows out of everything they do
Glasgow’s a pretty creative city so you feel comfortable to make what ever you want. It’s also really full-on and grimey – that “don’t give a fuck” attitude rubs off on you and that helps push you forwards all the time. The fact that it’s more isolated than some other cities in Britain also means that there’s room to grow and develop without giving away the game too much to anyone else, until you’re ready.
Shows are getting better and better, even when they’re not scaring away fans… (don’t worry Haydn, we won’t run away)
We played the Glasgow ABC last December supporting White and Baby Strange and it was the biggest gig we’ve done so far. It was the first time we came off stage and thought “that’s the bar set”. We concentrated on making more of a performance at that gig, and since then we’ve been thinking a lot more about that. A funnier moment was when we played Doune The Rabbit Hole Festival – after our set an old man came up asking if his granddaughter could get a photo with us, but as soon as she saw Haydn she got scared and ran away and left the grandpa laughing.
Think you’ve got their sound nailed with one EP? Think again.
All 4 of us have really varied influences, so when it comes to creating songs as a band it’s a massive of mix of different musical ideas and different ways of approaching the song that end up shaping the way it sounds. Sometimes it gets a bit tense with our different opinions but it always seems to work out after a while.
Their debut EP was recorded with Pixies producer Dan Austin, which was ‘fucking mental’
It came together very naturally, we made the EP before anyone knew who we were or had any pressure on us. It was as natural as can be. Since we recorded the EP a few months ago we’ve been writing loads of new material. So it’s more of a snapshot of where we were back then.
The track ‘Heartfelt’ on the EP is a real turning point for them, and includes some cracking sounds of pots and pans too for good measure.
The song was like the rest of them on the EP until we got to the studio, then it became something much bigger than it was when it was written. There’s lots of layer vocals and guitar sounds we’ve never ever used before – there’s even pots and pans from the studio’s kitchen played on the track.
Tell Domino’s to pack it in, because if The Ninth Wave were a meal it’d be…
Pizza.. It’s boring, but we eat it far too much for the answer to this question to be anything else.
If you go out on a night out with them, expect some tears by the time the clock strikes 3AM. Oh, and they know their way around a big night in Glasgow and should definitely get jobs as specialist tour guides
Haydn tends to cry a lot at the ends of nights out so they’re always spoiled by him.They’re all really blurry, but we always have a good time in Broadcast or Sleazy’s in Glasgow, and if we’re feeling like a sweaty night in an underground cave then we go to the Priory on Sauchiehall Street.
New material beyond their debut EP is already in the works, and finds them touching on a new and ever-changing sound that’s only going to grow and grow as The Ninth Wave ride ahead
The new songs we’ve been working on have a new sound to them and I think with every new release you’ll hear us progressing and experimenting with different sounds. We all want to do this full time and be able to drop our day jobs, play bigger shows and write more music. The way things are going, the next year is going to be a busy year and we need to keep working hard and keep focused but we are ready to do this.
The Ninth Wave have a philosophy that should be scrawled and plastered everywhere
Be who you want to be and fuck anyone who tells you otherwise.
We’re off to get the spray paint to start teeing up the revolution now. Until then, The Ninth Wave are heading out on a run of Scottish headline shows in October, which we can guarantee right now will be hot, unmissable and a run of shows that you’ll get to brag about in a few years when they’re slaying big ‘ol fields of people. That’ll be a nice feeling.
The Ninth Wave are set to play:
OCTOBER
19 ABERDEEN Cafe Drummonds
20 INVERNESS Tooth And Claw
21 DUNDEE Church
26 EDINBURGH Mash House
27 GLASGOW “Secret Location”