Marianne Gallagher
Alpine Attack’s brand new EP collects the choicest cuts of later twentieth century indie and contemporary production to hone a style all their own. Crystal-clear vocalist Marianne Gallagher channels prime The Sundays and a Sugarcubes-era Bjork through the band’s own bone dry production to filter a nervy, angst-ridden sound not a million miles away from the idea of Marianne Faithfull’s grand-daughter fronting the Arctic Monkeys. In the age of Trump and his bellicose culture, the more considered, rarefied tones of Gallagher and her band are a balm indeed.
Glacial imperialism through the language of Rough Trade records circa 1989 is the theme instead, as the sweaty, intense vibes of Oxford Street's 100 Club or King's Cross's The Water Rats are sonically revisited through the chiming, sepulchral guitars and metronome-tight drums of Gallagher's brothers in sound.
Themes
A-side Red Math charges through the various triangulations of a confrontation, dealing with issues of rage and regret, and the track ends as if it hadn’t occurred at all. So, the labyrinthine process of a typical relationship as seen through a classic C86 lens. Mastered by S. Vantsis - of Marillion/Tilt fame – at Gospel Oak studios, Alpine Attack played their debut gig at The Horn in December 2016.
Much like new The Cure producer-steered Magic Sponge album 'Countrification', Alpine Attack's dominant appeal lies in the introspective seclusion and sharp-mindedness of its creators.
Legacy and The Future
There is a calming, icy reassurance at the heart of AA. The grandeur of the appreciation of female-voiced indie being an ever-present element of the band, Marianne and Alpine Attack tackle the sheer slopes of a post-Coldplay alternative rock climate, to reinvigorate the London/Stirling suburbs with the determined promise of great things to come.
While Royal Blood may funnel Led Zeppelin into a legion of eager ears, it is willingly incumbent upon Alpine Attack and their pristine ilk to reinvigorate a new strain of indie, and to reinvent the wheel once again.
