9 O’clock Nasty – Peacekeeper

In a world where music is overly generic, predictable, repetitious, and bland, some bands stand out with their creative, fresh, unique, innovative approach to songwriting, composing, arranging, and producing. 9 O’clock Nasty, a prolific English trio based in Leicester, is known for its boundless creativity and willingness to break all rules and shapeshift boundaries of rock music. This band ages like a fine wine, delivering premium music suitable for even those picky listeners who demand only sharp lyricism, and thoughtful arrangements. Still, they also find ways to stack a touch of rawness, grittiness, and abrasiveness into their songs, making them even more listenable, catchy, and adorable. That’s the case with “Peacekeeper,” their latest standalone single, recently released via all streaming platforms. Lyrically, the title says it all. It’s a sharp critique of the current global political situation where those in power play war games for personal gain. Sonically, 9 O’clock Nasty never ceases to amaze with their music. The band continues to experiment, push boundaries yet stay true to the sonic direction they established from the very beginnings. From feral punk rock and gritty grunge to garage rock aesthetics and alternative vibes, there are plenty more elements borrowed from other similar genres, making this track suitable for even those newbies stumbling upon their song for the first time. The balance between sound quality that meets all the trends of contemporary music production and a subtle touch of nostalgia that those music genres carry in their core plays a significant role in shaping such a vibrant, dynamic, luxuriant ambiance of this fine piece of sonic artistry. It became a 9 o’clock Nasty’s trademark move, a more than necessary staple in all their recent songs. These experienced musicians become satisfied with this formula and it works to their advantage. Therefore, these experimentations with music genres, different styles, and approaches will unquestionably appeal to both fans of their earlier and newer work, but also those stumbling upon their music for the first time.

Like their previous works, this particular composition arrives with catchy, memorable, engaging guitar works that define the ambiance. The four-chord progressions shape a perfect backdrop for all the vocals to shine upon while the generous servings of distortion decorate and elevate these orchestrations with more abrasiveness and dirtiness. Still, the distortion doesn’t overwhelm these instrumentations. Quite the contrary, everything is well-balanced, so you’ll hear the melodic quality of this track lurking around. Beneath these luxuriant guitar works, you’ll hear equally distorted low-ends, providing more groove and detail. These vividly hearable, equally detailed basslines provide more heftiness, clearness, and depth to “Peacekeeper.” Together, guitar and bass arrive like an unstoppable, colossal wall of sound. You’ll notice how every hit of the snare drum cuts the ambiance, the kick of the bass drum blends into the song’s core, the hi-hats accentuate everything, and splash over cymbals give more space. These rhythmic patterns are so carefully assembled, flawlessly performed, and well-accentuated. Every beat, break, fill, and other percussive acrobatic creates a dynamic backbone that holds all the orchestrations together while dictating groove and pace. As usual, vocals elevate everything to new heights, command attention, and guide the listening apparatus from scratch to finish with such precision and finesse. The additional vocal layers, back vocals, and singalongs give that anthemic vibe to the particular segments. They sound so powerful, memorable, and catchy, forcing the listener to sing along with them along the way. “Peacekeeper” demonstrates 9 o’clock Nasty’s evolution as a band. They bring so many innovations to the table yet keep their signature moves, proving their willingness to push the boundaries of so many music genres at once. Their boundless creativity, brilliant ideas, and superb musicianship shine in the limelight here, making “Peacekeeper” such an excellent track worth spinning over again. The single is available on all streaming platforms. Don’t miss it!