Album review: ALT BLK ERA – Rave Immortal

ALT BLK ERA exploded onto the scene as a fascinating prospect – two sisters with yin and yang personalities taking a hammer to genre boundaries and flying the flag for misfits and weird kids everywhere. Last summer, however, Nyrobi and Chaya Beckett-Messam got a little more personal. Onstage at 2000trees, Nyrobi revealed she’s been living with a chronic illness since the middle of the pandemic, which has left her bed-bound, fatigued and in pain. This is the nexus of the Nottingham duo’s debut album, but beyond this showing of vulnerability, the sisters prove that they’re still determined to live loudly.

At first, things look a little darker. Opener Straight To Heart vibrates with a subdued pulse as the sisters recount how Nyrobi’s friends 'Left me in the dark / Wasting away under the stars,' while she was most ill, before the surging alt.rock of Come Out Outside beautifully captures the support Chaya offered her.

From there, the clouds dissolve into a lurid rainbow of sound, but their willingness to delve into sometimes untouched topics remains, and it’s one of their biggest strengths. The fizzing My Drummer’s Girlfriend delves into complicated friendship dynamics, while Hunt You Down’s eerie synth-pop (almost reminiscent of Fame-era Lady Gaga) lends a thrumming edge to an exploration of unhealthy obsession.

ALT BLK ERA’s sound has often remained quite fluid, but as the title of Rave Immortal suggests, they’re committing to the unbridled energy of the illicit warehouse party here. The jittering sounds of drum ‘n’ bass power much of the record and at its best – the fierce Crashing Parties and tongue-in-cheek Upstairs Neighbours – listening while sitting still does not feel like an option. Even with a couple of slightly samey tracks in the second half, the spooky Catch Me If You Can opens a portal to Halloween for three minutes in a clever late album twist.

The exciting part is that this is just the first chapter. They’ve got a foundation for greatness, not to mention a knack for sticky hooks and a giddy playfulness to the way they seem to make whatever the hell they want. It won’t be long before they find a way to outdo themselves.

Verdict: 4/5

For fans of: Pendulum, Enter Shikari, Ashnikko

Rave Immortal is out January 24 via Earache.