Hey y’all….
Here is a little update right from the beating heart of leafy Saddleworth:
We have been busy little critters of late, and slowly but surely completing some brand new 99s recordings. So as a “thank-you” for being so patient with us and our progress, we have decided to post a completely FREE download on-line right now.
The track is called “Think Of Me” and is a song written last summer. Check out the track now, and feel free to download the track at soundcloud.
The wonderfully talented Stuart Coleman has been at it again……this time with an array of fantastic new black and white LIVE images from our recent stint at The Ruby Lounge. Can’t have been an easy task making us look cool…..especially in such low light! Or maybe that was the trick of it?
We are not very good at blowing our own trumpets, so to speak, therefore we have just launched a new Reviews section on our site. Head over here to see what random people are saying about our ugly mugs!
Come and “like” our page on facebook for some regular updates and extra free stuff!
Hit the picture below to take you straight there now!
Check out a recent “Run Of The Mill” album review at Shadders Online music site, or see below for full review……..(We scored higher than a Kinks album on the same site!!)
http://www.shaddersonline.com/page9.htm
Band…. The 99’s
Album… Run of the Mill
Label … Tri Tone
Release date… 16 May
Who…Second album from Saddleworth’s finest guitar pop combo. Although there’s not many bands to compete with, just some rather dark shadows. What’s it like…‘60’s inspired guitar rock n’roll’ according to the band and to be honest we ain’t gonna argue with that! As early as the second track on this thirteen track opus they are showing some good honest example of this 60’s inspired rock n’roll, although we’d probably add the phrase indie pop into the mix too, ‘I’m not singing anymore’ is a neat and tidy pop tune, some nice guitars and a song with a chorus, ooh we like this! The 99’s know how to write a decent crafted pop tune to be fair to them, ‘(What a night) To be alive’ is nice and pleasant but lacks a little edge or excitement. Whereas ‘Tall Tales’ goes a little way to suggest where their influences lay, bit of Lennon vocal and Beatles tune which is fair seeing as they hail from t’North West! They pick up the pace with ‘You & Your lasso’ but still has a damn melody and chorus, great tune and definitely fits the 60’s inspired pop bracket. But if you want a bit of edge try a bit of ‘The awakening’, has a bit of grit in them there guitars, sounds a bit like The Bluetones circa ‘Return to the last chance saloon’. Actually The Bluetones comparison isn’t a bad one, Mark Morris’ now defunct pop troupe had an eye for a decent pop tune and a melody but weren’t afraid to mix it up once in a while neither. Anyway next up is actually the highlight of the album, ‘Holding on for you’ has no edge just a sun drenched lovelier than lovely guitar jangle with a beautiful vocal to complement it to a tee. It ticks all the boxes; melody, chorus, lyrics which pull on the heart strings and sweet, sweet guitars… stunning. And after another pleasant pop tune in ‘Get it Right’ there’s somewhat of a bolt from the blue, ‘Hillside’ is a spoken word piece set to a spot music, it’s dark and chilling and leads into a tune which echoes from Noel Gallagher sung Oasis era which isn’t a bad thing, just takes a while to get your head back onto the tunes after the scary spoken word verse! ‘Carry on’ should get you back into the pop mood, it’s got a real sunny disposition, adding some keys along with the bouncy melody, nice! You’d expect ‘Devil on your shoulder’ to have a dark edge but it doesn’t really; it does again sound a bit like The Bluetones if that counts! ‘Top of the world’ mixes a bit of that 60’s inspiration with a laid back groove but lyrically takes a stab at the ‘immediate’ current celebrity culture, fair game really! The end with a lovely little ditty, ‘Too soon’ sounds brittle and sugar sweet which makes it even more endearing a listen. Pick of the bunch…‘Holding on you for you’. Worth buying the whole album for! Oh and you get another twelve songs as a bonus too.
Ahead of this Thursday’s gig at the Ruby Lounge, the lovely fellows and fellowesses over at High Voltage have done a feature on the gig. Go check it out here……
If you missed our very own Johnny West being interviewed on ALL FM’s Night Moves show then don’t fear…..you can hear it all right here, right now….
And for more radio sessions, including a recent LIVE performance on BBC Manchester click here.
