Single reviewsThe Other Side Reviews

9 o’clock Nasty – Savage Mechanic (2023)

If you had to wake us up in the middle of the night and ask us who our favourite band is, the chances are I’ll answer Chicago…oh yeah, and that other band 9 o’clock Nasty – they’re pretty cool. The last time the Leicester threesome hit our ears, it was with their single ‘Dude, Your Mom’s A Squid?’ – a collaborative song with I Am The Unicorn Head (another pretty cool band). In all the madness and mayhem of 9 o’clock Nasty’s world, they reach out with a new melody, ‘Savage Mechanic’.

Following the well-received single ‘Mickey Humpper’, Sydd Spudd (vocals), Ted Pepper (vocals) and Pete Brock (all the various instruments) adopt an “only God knows what genre this really falls into” sound in ‘Savage Mechanic’. Quite simplistic when you consider the arrangement, pounding drums belie keyboards with 9 o’clock Nasty’s vocals falling into the cracks with a bold punch. For me, at least, the organ-driven tune brings unique edginess letting 9 o’clock Nasty stand above their peers jeering with a wicked smile.

All of 9 o’clock Nasty’s songs put a smile on my face, but ‘Savage Mechanic’ is one with a sneaky grin. Don’t ask me why. ‘Mickey Humpper’ made me reminisce on Toni Basil’s ‘Hey Mickey’ but ‘Savage Mechanic’ jumps from the 80s track to a contemporary garage rock with indie-rock stylings and punk brashness. I’m just generalising here genre-wise because, seriously, who knows what to expect from the inimitable 9 o’clock Nasty?

Instead of just saying the guy’s mom is a squid, ‘Savage Mechanic’ has a deeper, more provocative theme. Looking at those people who are always “there”, the ones who saw everything, who experienced everything from meeting the Queen to being the one who was asked out on Dinner Date. Don’t ever forget, they know the truth and understand everything.

“The Sex Pistols played at the Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester in June 1976. The venue has a capacity of 400 and yet more than a million people say they were there. Those Savage Mechanics are everywhere… ‘Savage Mechanic’ is a song about stolen glamour…” – 9 o’clock Nasty on ‘Savage Mechanic’

One of the easier-on-the-ears songs from 9 o’clock Nasty, but still a swirling mire of organised insanity (see what I did with the word organ there 😆), ‘Savage Mechanic’ is a song to love, enjoy, endure and smirk at.


For more from 9 o’clock Nasty, check out their official website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Spotify.

This artist was discovered via Musosoup #sustainablecurator