9 O’Clock Nasty – The Worms (2023)
What do you get if you take three extraordinarily talented musicians from Leicester and stick them in a room together? Well, 9 O’Clock Nasty of course! From punk to rock n’ roll, grunge and even a little bit of synth-pop, UK-based 9 O’Clock Nasty have us hanging on their every note with an intoxicated grin flitting across our lips. From ‘Cut’ to ‘Too Cool’, we have had the honour of reviewing this delicious demon of chaotic sound. Now, they share with us one of their most innovative releases to date – The Worms
Teaming up with indie-rock giants I Am The Unicorn Head (who we happen to have on our virtual pages), 9 O’Clock Nasty concoct not one but two intriguing singles released in the two-track EP, The Worms. Labelled as ‘The Worms Part 1’ and ‘The Worms Part 2’, I Am The Unicorn Head and 9 O’Clock Nasty take one composition performed in two ways with each band placing a unique slant on the song. Yet, while there is diversity in the tracks, it is the similarity within the diversity that highlights the bands’ innovation, creativity and originality. What I mean is, it is not only the lyrics that bring similarity but an underlying ethereal aura that binds the two enhancing each version’s intensity and power.
Not forceful in any way, each track has a nostalgic throwback to synth-pop sounds of yesteryear; however, a contemporary edginess peeks through the slivers of electropop, synths, pounding drums and heavy bass. Haunting melancholy and vulnerability drips from each track winding intimacy into The Worms. While ‘The Worms Part 1’ is more electronic than the harder ‘The Worms Part 2’, the lads explore human fragility within the melodies.
9 O’Clock Nasty might have toe-tapping, soul-stirring melodies, but is often the provocative lyricism which captures the profoundness of their songs. Despite the lines “I never asked to be alive, I never asked to be anything at all” supposing a desperate distress, the lads explain that “despite all the evidence to the contrary, it is a good time to be alive” – a concept elegantly captured in the dreamy, hazy, intoxicating Worms.
Coming in at just under 8 minutes, The Worms ensnares your senses with a haunting sincerity. Two Worms, one heart and a sprinkle of mystic musical magic.
For more from 9 O’Clock Nasty, check out their official website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Spotify.
This artist was discovered via Musosoup #sustainablecurator
