Forget the Stone Roses, the two teenage sisters, Nyrobi and Chaya Beckett-Messam, better known as ALT BLK ERA, are exactly what the world has been waiting for. With their genre bending and stereotype breaking music, unrepentant attitude and a NYC size dose of talent, the girls are the brightest stars on the UK music scene right now. And mark my words – they are so cool, so unique that soon they will not only take Europe but the US by storm too. And that cannot come soon enough.
“Freak Show” EP cover
We have followed the career of ALT BLK ERA for over a year and a half now, reviewing their previous singles “Off With Their Heads” in January, “Rock Star: Lunar” in March and “I’m Normally Like It” in June on Indieterria. Since then, the girls have absolutely hammered every obstacle that music business tends to throw in the ways of young unsigned bands. Their incredible shows are now drawing big crowds, they appeared at Glastonbury festival, played a show at Reading and Leeds and music magazines such as NME are finally waking up and starting to pay attention. Nothing, absolutely nothing makes me happier as a music journalist to finally see this very young and very talented duo receiving the attention they deserve. Both sisters have been working incredibly hard to be noticed, and what’s most important, they bring something new and fresh to the UK alternative music scene after decades of stagnation. Yes, there is a ton of new bands arriving to the scene each day, but if they all play the same nostalgic tunes that went out of fashion at the beginning of the millennium and look like carbon copies of Alan Wren, then we hardly can claim that the UK music business is up to date. Frankly, sometimes I have the feeling, the old crew that built their careers in the 70’s and 80’s, are purposefully keeping a tight grip on the music market, preventing anybody new from succeeding. Maybe I will sound like your average conspiracy theory nut but look at the differences of the festival line-ups in continental Europe and in the UK. Europe is more varied, experimental, inclusive and colourful and we look like we are stuck in the middle of Margaret Thatcher’s mining crisis and we have a similarly cheerful disposition as a nation after Brexit. Thank heavens for ALT BLK ERA, who gloriously came out of Nottingham, to deliver us all from boredom, porridge and musical creative directors.
After issuing nearly a dozen of singles over the course of two and a half years, ALT BLK ERA are now releasing their debut EP entitled “Freak Show”. It is coming out on September 1st and contains 5 carefully selected songs that are brilliantly showcasing the girls’ composing and singing skills. If you have read our previous reviews, you know that we have been praising their abilities to blend genres to high heavens and this EP will prove what the band can do. Be prepared to hear a mixture of rock, jazz, drum and base, alt rock, grunge, sludge metal, alternative rock, emo, and alt techno among others. You will have to keep your head in your hands or it will spin! Promise!
Nyrobi and Chaya Beckett-Messam
The self-released EP was produced by Natt Webb (Kelsy Karter, The Overtones) at Rat Cat Studios and mixed and mastered by Blessing Magore Music. It contains two new songs (“Oggy” and “Freak Show”) and three previously released digital singles: the most recent “I’m Normally Like This”, “Misfits: Solar” and “Misfits: Lunar”. That’s nearly 18 minutes of music, not bad for a first release. Bit disappointed that “Off With Their Heads”, didn’t make the cut, but the final selection must have been difficult, the girls have a pretty big back catalogue to choose from.
“I’m Normally Like It” is a perfect opener for this EP – a midtempo, very radio friendly track that sets the energetic tone for the entirety of the release. It has power, a proper kick and it also serves as a statement: the female duo is not here to meet anybody’s standards but their own. They know what they want to say and they are saying things without regret. You don’t like their honesty? Too bad, they don’t give a shit and you are free to leave, just don’t let the door bite your ass on your way out.
It’s very difficult to have this type of attitude at such a young age (the girls are 16 and 19) and I’m sure they are putting on a brave front at times, but you have to admire them for being convincing and bold to even try. It takes a lot of courage to realize that looking back and pleasing others will get them nowhere. So they are out, doing what they love and trying their best. At the same time, it’s really heartbreaking to know they have received a lot of grief online and offline for being women, being Black and wanting to play metal music, a domain of conservative, white old dudes in Pantera tees. “I’m Normally Like This” is actually using hate against the haters, it’s turning the tables to the band’s advantage. This is who we are and we are not afraid to show it, that’s the main motto of the song. You can ridicule us, it hurts but it will not stop us from being true to ourselves. I hope that next year every teenager, every lonely kid will be blasting this song in their bedroom singing the lyrics out loud. It really helps, believe me, I was once that kid too.
“Mistfits: Solar” and “Misfits: Lunar” are two different takes on one theme. The Solar vs Lunar versions are ALT BLK ERA’s trademark and almost all of their singles were released in this format. Solar tracks are usually more aggressive, uncompromising and wild, while Lunar songs are quieter, more reflective and quite solemn. From my understanding, the girls are doing this to reflect their two, completely opposite personalities. They are like yin and yang; when we are looking at them separately, they may seem contradictory but only when put together, they create a complete and harmonious entity. There is no surprise here: “Misfits: Solar” is a crazy drum and base/drill meets metal ride with a lot of wonderful shouting (something I personally adore) and “Misfits: Lunar” is a slow/heavy, blues and classical music inspired alternative dance track with influences from heavy metal to hip hop and goth and symphonic metal. I think we could get a similar sound if Therion got to play a gig alongside Billie Ellish and Ashnikko. Amazingly good, probably the best number of the EP.
Puppets on the strings
The title track, “Freak Show” continues the slow dance initiated by “Misfits: Lunar”. Starting with an eerie, ominous sounding music box, the track reminds me of “Low”, the debut single by megastar pop/rap Flo Rida, albeit in a stripped back, heavier and rockier version. We have a bit of everything here: slow groove, heavy bass and guitars that could have been nicked from Alice Cooper’s “Welcome to My Nightmare” album. The beat is southern hip hop infused with goth rock and, I could be mistaken, but there is a trumpet at 3 minutes mark, giving the whole track a slightly creepy Día de los Muertos vibe. We are close to Halloween so maybe the song will be popular with audiences on the girls’ incoming autumn tour.
The closing number, “Oggy” hailed by Metal Hammer as an outstanding track, sadly pales in comparison with the previous two. It does have some ruggedy charm, with grungy guitars, hard core chants and police siren howling in the background, but it definitely shouldn’t be the last song you hear. Probably, it will turn out to be a great track to play live, but as a finisher for the EP, it kinda feels unfulfilling and even a bit flat. It leaves the listeners wanting more. Minor detail but since I have been waiting for the debut EP for more, I feel not fully satisfied.
Overall, this is a killer debut for a very young band that has a lot of imagination and enough talent to fill out huge venues in two – three years from now. They need a proper team around them who will be making smart decisions, and freedom to compose songs the way they see fit. Nyrobi and Chaya are also very young and they still learn how to navigate the music business, an industry rife with racism, sexism and disdain for outspoken, strong women. Yet. I have no doubt that they will succeed – they are bringing things to the table that are actually revolutionizing British heavy music.
Solid, 8/10 for their excellent musical efforts and social and political awareness.
Please follow the band online at:
https://www.altblkera.com/
https://www.facebook.com/ALTBLKERA
https://www.instagram.com/altblkera/
https://twitter.com/ALTBLKERA
https://altblkera.bandcamp.com/
https://www.tiktok.com/@altblkera
https://www.youtube.com/c/ALTBLKERA
https://soundcloud.com/altblkera
https://open.spotify.com/artist/4FNR2qdCVKGAep4alfg
More reviews for „Freak Show” online:
https://www.nme.com/reviews/album/alt-blk-era-freak-show-ep-review-radar (4 of 5 stars)
https://distortedsoundmag.com/ep-review-freak-show-alt-blk-era/ (8/10)
https://ringmasterreviewintroduces.wordpress.com/2023/09/01/alt-blk-era-freak-show/
https://musipediaofmetal.blogspot.com/2023/09/reviews-empire-state-bstard-silent.html (8/10)
“Freak Show” is released independently on 1st of September 2023.
Cover artwork and pictures by Fabrice Gagos
Rita Dabrowicz
Indieterria 