Nine Black Alps

Manchester, England's Nine Black Alps feature Sam Forrest (vocals/guitar), James Galley (drums/vocals), Martin Cohen (bass), and David Jones (guitar). The indie rock foursome came together in 2003, taking their name from a line in the Sylvia Plath poem "The Couriers." Two years later, Nine Black Alps inked a record deal with Island in the U.K. Their debut album, Everything Is, arrived that June. A U.S. record deal with Interscope and a self-titled EP followed in July. Tours with the Kaiser Chiefs, Hard-Fi, and Weezer as well as festival appearances at Glastonbury, T in the Park, Reading, and Leeds coincided with the success of such Top 40 singles as "Shot Down," "Not Everyone," "Unsatisfied," and "Just Friends." Produced by Rob Schnapf (Beck, Elliott Smith, the Vines), Everything Is was released stateside in February 2006, and a limited six-song EP, Glitter Gulch, came out shortly after. West Coast dates with Social Distortion followed that summer, while their second album, Love/Hate, was released in October 2007. When their major-label deal ended, the band released a third record, Locked Out from the Inside, through its own Lost House Records in October 2009. Following the departure of Cohen -- who not only found a deal with Fat Cat for his Milk Maid project, but also pursued a career in rock photography -- Karl Astbury, formerly of the Witches, replaced him on bass. Next for Nine Black Alps came a deal with Leeds-based Brew Records, which released their fourth album, Sirens, in October 2012. With Brew closing the following year, Nine Black Alps signed on with Hatch Records, where they released their fifth album, Candy for the Clowns, in 2014. ~ MacKenzie Wilson & James Wilkinson