Album Review: The Ninth Wave - 'Heavy Like a Headache'
The first time I saw The Ninth Wave was at the tail-end of 2016, supporting Baby Strange & WHITE at the sadly now vacant ABC in Glasgow. I can’t remember much about it other than the vague recollection of being immensely unenthusiastic at the thought of enduring another support act that I’d never hear of or see again. Five and a half years, countless gigs, three EPs, and soon to be two albums later, I couldn’t have been more off the mark with my first assertion of this band. They’re now a daily listen and a band I’m not quite ready to let go of yet. With news last month that second album ‘Heavy Like a Headache’ is likely due to be their last, that wave goodbye has sadly come all too soon.
Now the eulogy’s out the way, let’s crack open the red and get to the main course. ‘Maybe You Didn’t Know’ was an early taste of the new album when it was served up last Summer. The generous portion of synths mean it’s still just as fresh and appetising as it was last July. ‘Heron on the Water’ reminded me of The National’s ‘Sea of Love’ in terms of the sheer urgency of its drum and guitar lines. The organic chemistry of the tandem vocals at opposite ends of the scale is something that quartet have always crafted really well and it’s no different here with Haydn Park Patterson and Millie Kidd once again joining forces to create something special.
‘Hard Not to Hold You’ was the last sneak peak of the album prior to release and with the accompanying video showcasing a smorgasbord of highlights over the years, it feels slightly bittersweet knowing that the curtains are about to come down on the band. Still, bawling my eyes out aside, it’s another captivating listen which has elements of their debut ‘Reformation’ EP about it.
A couple tracks pass me by, ‘These Depopulate Hours’, ‘The Morning Room’ and ‘Some’ aren’t bad by any means, but they just don’t seem to cast the same spells compared with some of their more important peers on the album.
The power and emotion of ‘Everything Will Be Fine’ snuck up on me last year when I saw the band at Omeara in London. I enjoyed the song when I first heard it around the end of 2020, but being one of the first gigs I’d been to post-lockdown I was still wandering around the venues like a scared zombie that night. When this song reverberated around the brick walls that evening it felt like something of a religious experience. The track has taken on a bit of a new meaning for me since then and while it’s been around for a while, it’s a crowning moment on ‘Heavy Like a Headache.’ If you’re equally fond of it, you should look back through the archives for the extended driving version which is quite majestic.
‘Song for Leaving’ is beautiful, fragile, and unlike anything I’ve heard from the band before. It pulls you in and then before you know it it’s over quite abruptly without warning. In a sense, it’s the fitting finale the album and the band deserve.
Whichever direction the wind carries the ashes of The Ninth Wave, they can look back with pride at their varied and consistent back catalogue and memorable live shows. Somewhere along the way they’ve even managed to turn a dull and cynical music reviewer into a fan for life.
Words by Richard Cobb
