The music of 9 O’Clock Nasty has always been pleasantly divisive. You either get it, or you just don’t. In case you’re one of those who don’t, you can run along. But if you’re one of the chosen ones, then let us have a look at the group’s latest single ‘Beast’.
Rowdy, loud, shameless, and dripping with character is how I would refer to 9 O’Clock Nasty, the boys from Leicester, and the moment I heard that their latest single is a piano-driven ballad-of-sorts about regret I almost worried that the group had lost their loud bearings. But I am pleased to report that ‘Beast’, while being indeed softer, if that is the correct word, than what we are used to from the group, it never loses touch with what makes the group’s music scratch the itch with their lovers.
‘Beast’ is still simple in composition, hooligan-ish, and is home to the same feral yelps from the group’s pair of frontmen. The beat is still massive and cavernous, sounding like it was recorded in a blissfully dingy garage. The mix is edgy and the vocal deliveries are as charismatic as ever, with the group’s usual freeform rhythmic twists at play. Business as usual, thankfully.
‘Beast’ is a single that sounds quintessentially 9 O’Clock Nasty, but with a fresh, stripped down feel that makes all the vocal mayhem even more potent and exciting. It is a mild left turn that surprisingly heightened what the group already does best. Count me in.
