Member Since: 8/13/2005
Band Website: alfa9.co.uk
Band Members:
Phil Mason  Guitar, Vocals
Ali Heath  Bass, Vocals
Leon Jones  Guitar
Andy Vernon Drums
an introduction
".......Classic English rock with a large psychedelic edge, think Stone Roses............Woodstock period Who, Noel Gallagher style wall-of-guitar laced with astral-progressions and unfolding psychedelic brit-rock bite that's rather good for your bones, oh and maybe a bit of Zeppelin tooooooo. Alfa9 are from Up North somewhere - that much is obvious, they rather like their 70's psychedelic artwork and their Freakbeat look, yep, that's also obvious - they're not obvious though, they hint at things but it's never obvious - we've seen a million tiresome Stone Roses/Oasis/Who flavoured wannabes, Alfa9 are a lot more than that. They have a swagger, not too cocky, it's not a chip on the shoulder attitude thing, they just know....."
The Organ - October 2005
Then We Begin Album Reviews
Alfa 9 are undoubtedly the most psychedelic thing to come out of Stoke.
With tips of the hat to all the great stoner records (Dark Side of the Moon is an obvious reference) their debut is not so much an album as a wall of sound, with no obvious breaks between tracks, lashings of harmonised vocals and some stunning Gilmour-esque solos.
Rating: 8/10 by Henry Yates
Total Guitar - September 2006
Recorded in The Charlatans' Big Mushroom studio, Alfa9's debut is a confident, elaborate trip through forty years of psychedelic rock. Having gigged across the country since their inception four years ago, Alfa9 have channeled everything into a definitive debut and produced a stunningly complete piece of music. Like most bands from outside one of the major music centres, they have found it hard getting noticed but rather than complain they just got their heads down and gigged and gigged. Given the reputation of their live shows as full on 'happenings' complete with a frazzled lightshow, it is easy to
see why they have succeeded in breaking into the national circuit. Book-ended by instrumentals and boasting no less than three interludes shows the confidence they have in their material and the time their fans will invest in the music. A fully realised and hugely ambitious debut which succeeds on every level.
Clash Magazine - July 2006
If the Stones Roses had lived in Haight-Asbury....
Remember when, for a flicker, the Stones Roses blurred the line between indie, psychedelia and heritage rock with their 1994 album The Second Coming? Well, Alfa9 sound a bit like that.
Then We Begin is a little naïve and obvious in places, but the scope of its psychedelic vision sweeps from late-60s San Francisco to mid-90s Madchester. Reminiscent of early Elbow and Cooper Temple Clause before both succumbed to the indie shilling. Then We Begin is authentic, rallying and, on tracks like For Your Bones and Flasher, almost brilliant.
The Newcastle-under-Lyme band straddle psychedelia and indie, but so far have, thankfully, avoided stumbling into the latter's
charms.
Rating: 7/10 by Malcolm Dome
Classic Rock Magazine - Summer 2006
Deadman Single Reviews
Remember the first time you got taken up and away by the 'Floyd's blissful psychedelia? That's what the verse of 'Deadman' sounds like, which would be a good enough recommendation for buying this single on its own.
But, if you stopped reading this review and did just that, you'd get one hell of a surprise when the chorus rushes in, propelled by mutiple layers of lead guitar. It steals the show in a The-Coral-harmonising-with-The-Byrds stylee and leaves you feeling like you've just been caught in the eye of a particularly forceful sonic storm.
A great live act, too, Alfa 9 are without a doubt ones to watch in the coming months.
Rating: 8/10 by Rob Webb
www.drownedinsound.com - July 2006
Stunning guitars break out of the speakers before giving over to hazy vocals and classic CSN/Hollies style harmonies in a western styled call to the stage. Changing rhythms and Gilmour-esque guitar take the listener to places they werent expecting and maybe never wanted to visit in the first place but you cant help listening. This is superbly crafted psychedelia for the 21st century and as perfect a summer rock number for 2006 as we are likely to get.
Rating: 4/5 by Andy Snipper
www.music-news.com - 4 August 2006
With the wistful melancholy of David Gilmour at his epic best fused tightly to the jittering psychedelic melee of the Stone Roses at its sharpest, Alfa9 are the band to paint a multi-coloured hole on a wall so we can all escape into their world....Last one in is a maggot!
www.subba-cultcha.com - August 2006
For Your Bones Single &
Then We Begin Album Review
Formed in Newcastle-under- Lyme a couple of years ago five-piece Alfa 9 have been gigging constantly and honing their art. Forthcoming single, the psychedelic jangle-monster 'For Your Bones' is an artistic statement if ever I heard one. Their debut album Then We Begin puts the band in the same league as Echo & The Bunnymen or The Byrds and on more than equal pegging with the new generation of Liverpool bands like The Coral and The Zutons. Dreamy harmonies, chunky semi-acoustic guitars, spaced out tunes. If you like '60s era Pink Floyd or early Stone Roses you will find something
to love and cherish here. 'Little Girl' has a folky hypnotic magic only matched by The Byrds 'Dolphin Smile' or Lennon's 'Julia' from The Beatles White Album. These talented twenty-somethings are going to be big news next year.
John Coleman -
London 'What's On' - 8 December 2005
For Your Bones Single Reviews
Layer upon layer of guitars -
This recalls The Who at their best
Rating: 4/5
The Sun Newspaper - 2 December 2005
It seems to have taken the initiative of Pure Reason Revolution in teaching the kids that Pink Floyd records needn't be concealed in a brown paper bag. With prog having long been a word not even the Collins Dictionary would touch, Alfa 9 don't exactly embrace it in the same vein as PRR, but there are nods in that direction. Flourishing with a hazy, strong psychedelic edge that evokes images of smoky backstreet NYC dens and Led Zep freakouts, this track is an impressively confident debut.
Artrocker - November 2005
LIVE Reviews
The Metro, London July 6th 2006
Who said prog rock was dead? It's alive, acid fuelled and dripping off the walls at the Metro tonight. With disarming vocal harmonies and swirling riffs this band could quite possibly be the Pink Floyd of the future. Guitars slide and sprinkle over monstrous drums creating a wall of sound that's impossible to ignore. If there was ever a band to make you want to munch some magic mushrooms and run naked through a field it's this one. Go lose your weekend in their melodies. I am.
Emma Edmondson
UNPEELED - August 2006
Record Label: Blow Up Records
Type of Label: Indie