‘WE have got a lot of new things coming our way,” says Louise MacLennan, keyboard-player with rising Glasgow band The Ninth Wave.
The charismatic four-piece, which also features joint vocalists Haydn Park-Patterson (guitar) and Millie Kidd (bass) and drummer Lewis Tollan are looking forward to their biggest summer yet, with their set on the opening day of TRNSMT being followed by a run of European festivals, a date in Germany with Editors and a support slot with OMD on August 3 as part of Regular Music’s Summer Nights At The Bandstand in Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Park.
Those two latter dates are particularly inspired: their 2017 debut EP Reformation and Never Crave Attention, their confident offering from earlier this year, show a gift for powerful post-punk allied to a keen, sometimes theatrical flair for underground pop.
There’s cinematic influences too: the cool nihilism of Gregg Araki’s 1990s post-slacker classic The Doom Generation and David Lynch’s feverish Twin Peaks inform their artwork, videos and dreamy, almost Goth-like aesthetic. These are arena-ready tracks for blank kids wanting meaning and glamour from a confusing world – and they’re getting even bigger.
Recently recording new material at Distillery Studios in Bath, the band say they are exploring new sounds and dynamics.
“We’re finding that we’re adding things that we’ve been discovering in the studio, things which will be incredible to use live,” says Kidd.
MacLennan says: “The recordings are already massive, and we’re looking forward to them being bigger live. We’re exploring new sounds and dynamics, and the songs we are recording just now are definitely different.
“We’re taking all our new inspirations, our new equipment, and incorporating those into the sound we’ve already got.”
Playing the King Tut’s Stage at TRNSMT on June 29, The Ninth Wave haven’t played Glasgow since January.
“We’ll definitely be looking to play some new songs,” MacLennan says. “That should be really special, playing in front of our home crowd.”
The Ninth Wave play TRNSMT, Glasgow Green, on June 29. www.trnsmtfest.com theninthwave.online
Five-day festival TRNSMT is headlined by Stereophonics (June 29), Liam Gallagher (June 30) Arctic Monkeys (July 1), Queen + Adam Lambert (July 6) and The Killers (July 7). www.trnsmtfest.com
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