Nude Beaches. 9-Volt Velvet

9-Volt Velvet's songs are a mix of full-on rock and a whispered, breathy way of singing. A way of singing that usually gets to me, yet works like a miracle on Nude Beaches. The album is supercharged with energy that combines 1980s doom and gloom with 1970s glamrock and the energy of everything that came since. From The Dandy Warhols to what not in alternative rock.

9-Volt Velvet is a trio from Texas, Mark Cross, Donnie Robertson and Kevin Robinson. They all play a host of instruments on the album, also interchanging, so do not ask me who exactly plays what, except that Cross is the singer. Nude Beaches follows on the release of two EPs, 'Cathedrals' and 'Mirrors' in 2022. The three of them play up a storm in most of the songs. Single 'Riptide' had already made it to these pages. It is an exemplary track for Nude Beaches and a totally justified single. This song has so much energy and yet is a song. Melody and harmonies are all in place, despite the rock storm unleashed at the listener.

A trained listener will hear a host of influences in the music on Nude Beaches. I leave it to you to discover them for yourself. Some are quite obvious. The band handles them well and turns them into their own. Enter the mystifying and strange interlude 'Blue Odyssey', that cuts the album nicely in two, but is not the only track that is really different.

I do wonder what happens live? Will it be a A Place To Bury Strangers experience, where the there's just a wall of noise with no idea what the singer is even contributing or is it possible to get a perfect mix with this style of singing? Although I seriously doubt to be ever able to see this band play live over here, it is a question that I can't help asking.

Nude Beaches is a strong album from beginning to end. This band is not afraid to rock, has a handful of interesting (bass) riffs and a whole host of distorted sound effects, creating a wall of sound you can drive a truck into without denting it. And, of course, then an acoustic guitar sets in for 'Storm (Where's My Sunny Day?)'. Again a shortish interlude before that huge bass comes in again, this time for 'Hurricane Brain'. 

Another high light of Nude Beaches is 'Hey Candy'. A track that manages to mix loud alternative rock with pop. Truth be told I have the inclination to start singing Blondie's 'Call Me' in the intro. This totally disappears in the verse, don't worry. To me, it makes 'Hey Candy' even more attractive. The song is available with 'Riptide' as a 7" single.

Nude Beaches does not let go of these levels of energy, although the extended version of 'Blues From A Gun', lays a connection to the first interlude, 'Blue Odyssey'. It shows the other side of 9-Volt Velvet. Call it shoegaze, call it 80s doom, call it rock and roll for the 21st century. The result is the same, an album that rocks with a few songs in between that do less so, like the final one 'Doldrums'. They all are quite the ride.

Wout de Natris

You can listen to and order Nude Beaches here:

https://9-voltvelvet.bandcamp.com/album/nude-beaches