Glasgow has long been a city for producing creative talent in abundance. But one of its latest musical exponents, The Ninth Wave, have been setting themselves apart from the pack. Their debut album ‘Infancy’, delivered in two parts during 2019, put their name firmly on the map, leading to AIM Album of the Year and Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) award nominations. Follow up EP ‘Happy Days’ came in 2020 and now fresh off the back of a sold-out UK tour, ‘Heavy Like A Headache’, The Ninth’s Wave sophomore album, has arrived amid rife anticipation.
The Ninth Wave is led by Haydn Park-Patterson and Millie Kidd, with Kyalo Searle-Mbullu and Calum Stewart accompanying on synths and drums respectively. Various line-up changes have graced the band since forming in 2014, but their current setup has proven to be their most formidable. Millie’s addition to the band in 2017 changed everything; the musical chemistry between Millie and Haydn is the band’s endearing focal point. The pair’s dexterous vocal harmonies showcase their innate understanding of one another, and with every new Ninth Wave release, this only seems to grow stronger.
‘Heavy Like A Headache’ begins with a short, minimalistic intro track from Millie, setting a slightly eery yet captivating scene from the offset. ‘Maybe You Didn’t Know’ follows with classic Ninth Wave irregular rhythms mixed with generous dashes of euphoria. The band tickle the fringes of new sonic territory on ‘Heron On The Water’ and ‘These Depopulate Hours’ – channelling essences of Scottish contemporaries Young Fathers with its glitchy textures.
Various interludes add further flavour to the album, but its star track comes just after the midway point with ‘What Makes You A Man’. Led by Millie, it showcases the band’s growth in confidence to look more inward with their material than ever before. It explores issues of consent with such vulnerability: “I will feel the shivers you don’t feel / I will feel the shame that this is real.” Yet, at the same time, it brims with defiance through its lurching drums and bold vocals, making for an intensely powerful track.
‘Piece And Pound Coins’ sees Haydn take centre stage with melancholic lyrics and a contrastingly bright instrumental. The album’s title track is a ballad focused around naivety and regret while ‘Pivotal’ and ‘Some’ look set to be new live stage favourites with their wide soundscapes, catchy hooks and relatable lyrical themes of insecurity.
‘Heavy Like A Headache’ takes the musical intricacies that The Ninth Wave are cherished for into new territories. Lyrically, this is The Ninth Wave’s strongest album yet – they’ve never been more open about themselves as artists. And when courage and vulnerability combine, that can surely only be a good thing.
7/10
Words: Jamie Wilde
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