Inverted Nines

Editor's Review:

Another Chico punk band has emerged from the corps. The Inverted Nines dredge memories of that wonderful era of late '70s punk rock before anybody knew what to call it. The Inverted Nines have pressed a DIY CD titled 1999, and I really admire their ingenuity. For CD covers they went down to Jo-Ann Fabrics and bought a roll of gray upholstery vinyl off the bargain table, spray painted their name and title on it, then stapled it into envelopes for their CD. If you can get your hands on one, I recommend it. Their two original tracks work in the genre between Angry Samoans and a vamped-up version of The Ramones sprinkled with a little bit of style reminiscent of Adolescents' Rick Agnew. If these guys were a bit older, I wouldn't be surprised to see an Inverted Nines track on a Rodney on the Roq compilation. The cover of The Vindictives' "In the Corner" shows the Inverted Nines at their best, and that they can flow naturally at high speeds. Their cover of G.G. Allin's "Drink Fight and Fuck" is catchy and does justice to that freakish rock icon. The original opening track, "Scurvy," exhibits driving bass rifts seasoned with sporadic high-end replies by the guitar, all glued together by steady drumming, ratcheting vocals and timely "Oi!" style back-up vocals. Their next track, "Daniel," reduces the tempo and swings the band into an Americanized version of Stiff Little Fingers. 1999 is a good CD and I look forward to hearing some more originals—I hope the band keeps working the early American hard core's ability to be high energy and original and not succumb to the "radio friendly" generic sounds of Epitaph and Fat Wreck Chords. My only complaint is the CD is too damn short, but it's a nice teaser of what's to come. Besides, what good album has ever been too long? The Inverted Nines can be reached at Bones564@hotmail.com

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Record Label DIY Released April 2001

Tracks