It’s been a full year since the British alternative rock/nu metal duo ALT BLK ERA issued their debut album to great acclaim. They are now back with a new headlining UK tour, new EP titled “Our World” and their newest single “Tissues”. The song came out at midnight today, but judging from the initial opinions, the band is about to release their best material yet. We have listened to the track and we can confirm, ALT BLK ERA are still one of the best new acts in British music today. However, the song surprised us a lot. Read on and we will tell you why!
Official bio: ALT BLK ERA are genre-smashing UK sister duo Nyrobi (21) and Chaya (18) are redefining music by fusing Rock with Alt Pop, D’n’B, Rap and Electronic beats. Beyond the music, they advocate for hidden disability awareness and inclusivity in the music industry, inspired by Nyrobi’s personal journey – a key theme of “Rave Immortal”. The duo are MOBO 2025 winners for “Best Alternative Music Act”, Music Week’s Women in Music “New Artist” award winners and scored UK No.1 in the Rock & Metal chart with their debut album “Rave Immortal”. The band is signed to Nottingham based independent record label, Earache Records.
We are not going to keep you waiting. “Tissues” is a fantastic track, but what a change in sound!! We are still picking our jaws from the floor. Seriously, we have not foreseen the band going into this direction at all!
But let’s start at the beginning. “Tissues” is just two minutes and 8 seconds long. This is surprising in itself as the new single is the shortest song the band has released so far. Their tracks rarely extended past 3 minutes and a half, but “Tissues” is as compacted as it can possibly be. We have to say, we wish it was a bit longer to allow the audience to fully immerse in it, but short doesn’t mean bad. The song is perfect as it is, it just takes a couple of listens to fully appreciate the structure, production, richness of the composition etc. When you hear it for the first time, the song goes at full speed, leaving you with not enough time to appreciate the musical nuances ALT BLK ERA are known for.
Since their inception, the band has toyed with multiple styles and genres and it has not changed. When we covered their independent releases, they fused soul, jazz, avantgarde with rock, industrial metal, nu metal, goth and metal core among others. Their last single “OK (Cyber Racing)” released in October 2025 signaled another change, but “Tissues” is taking the group into completely new territory.
“Tissues” is fast, flashy, electronic, almost K-rock/K-pop with muted guitars in the background. This is Charli XCX’s British hyper-pop meeting Blackpink’s EDM/trap with industrial pacing and beats. The refrain is very catchy with repeated hooks and harmonized vocals. Girls take turns singing in verses and then collaborate together in choruses. There is a slower bridge, intro and small outro, with well defined tempo changes.
If I was to be really specific, ALT BLK ERA are somewhere at the crossroads now, right points to electronic avantgarde pop a la Billie Ellish, FKA Twigs, Lady Gaga, left will take them to industrial metal/EDM in the form of KMFDM, Juno Reactor, Atari Riot and straight ahead lies East Asian popular music that we know as J-Rock or K-Pop. Think Attarashi Gakko! (Atarashii Gakkou no Leaders), Qwer and others. I’m not certain which direction the girls shall take, but whatever it is, for sure, the upcoming EP will open a brand new chapter for the band.
Choosing K-Pop inspired electro pop seems like the most probable option at this moment. British indie listeners may be a bit sceptical, but the new fans will accept it with open arms. K-Pop, J-rock and Visual Kei genres are gaining in popularity on the British Isles. Japanese/Korean conventions are being organized up and down the country and K-Pop reigns supreme on the UK charts.
One thing has to be said about British artists – they seldom chose to play, or experiment with imported musical genres, relying instead on styles they themselves invented (Northern indie, Britpop, punk rock etc). The notable exceptions to the rule are UB40 and Bush who built their entire careers on adapting foreign born music styles to the British realities of the 1980’s and 1990’s with ska/reggae and grunge respectively. ALT BLAK ERA, two very young girls from Nottingham are bolder and braver than the majority of the British music industry, and are not afraid to take a gamble.
This innovative attitude doesn’t just stop at music. It shapes everything the band does: from openly speaking about personal issues such as long term illness, their stage outfits inspired by manga and anime to covers, photoshoots and their very unorthodox attitude to social media. ALT BLK ERA are a breath of fresh air in everything they do and if properly promoted in Japan, they would be an overnight success. Give them a year and they would sell out even the Budokan!
“Tissues” comes with a beautifully directed video by Matt Chandler, who previously worked on many independent releases including “Rhythm to Yourself” by The Molotovs, “Problems” by Yonaka or several videos for AJ Tracey. I’m so glad to see Chaya and Nyrobi still continuing to use their signature colours of white and black. This solar/lunar legacy from their independent day,s is of course updated to match their newest look, but it greatly matches their opposite personalities. Dressed in black, and walking in the rain with an oversized umbrella, Chaya looks a bit like Rhianna, while Nyrobi, donning all white, reminds me of Beyonce during her Cowboy Carter era. The video has a gothic feel to it – stormy skies, torrential downpour, blinding lights symbolizing lighting strikes create a mysterious atmosphere. There is humour in there too: Nyrobi lying on a bed made out of paper tissues and then both girls dancing together like Enid Sinclair and Agnes DeMille from “Wednesday” Season 2.
In short – “Tissues” is that kind of a rare track that sounds great on a record, in a club and live in a concert hall. If it was only 30 second longer, we would have called it pure perfection. Extended mix anybody? In all seriousness – great release from a band we absolutely love.
5 stars.
Further reading
https://diymag.com/news/alt-blk-era-new-ep-our-world-tissues
https://numetalagenda.com/alt-blk-era-announce-new-ep-upcoming-single-tissues-2/
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/4FNR2qdCVKGAep4alfgt25?si=_0Tjd9vtQv24g04ZJlMy8w
Rita Dabrowicz
Indieterria 