aaamusic | On 19, May 2012

The latest from Manchester’s small scale yet perennially interesting Superstar Destroyer roster, Ninetails’ ‘Blue Bottle Flu’ is a dreamy prog-pop number via a tasty dash of 00s indie, with intricate, forlorn guitars and melancholy vocals, alongside a deceptively slick bassline and some rather atmospheric drums.
I’ll have to say, it won’t be to some peoples’ tastes. The fussy melodies and heart-on-sleeve lyrics at first jar, but the song for all its space age frills is a pop song in many respects, cramming some deft musicianship into a concise package that stays shy of four minutes. The breakdown is perhaps the tipping point where the song cements itself into the “yes” pile, channelling flickers of The Mars Volta in a charming Strokes/Radiohead clash, so when the chorus refrain returns, drenched in echo, it buries itself into the ears with surprising impact for the age-old “you’ll regret this in the morning time”.
It’s hard to decide exactly what’s going on here, as Ninetails don’t quite manage to muster the clout for a truly ear-grabbing single, but again SSD have signed an artist that is startlingly unique and ticks boxes across the board. I’d be very interested to hear what they would do with more time and tracks to explore. More please.

★★★★★

Katie H-Halinski