99 Burning rocks to their own groove on ‘Midnight in America’
Written by James Wall
99 Burning
Midnight in America
The song titles alone will already clue you in on the ’90s-era dark shadows that loom above 99 Burning – “7 Devils,” “She’s My Nightmare,” “Lonely Skies,” etc. Clearly this is a group that was spawned from the same womb as Soundgarden and Alice in Chains. But even though you probably have never heard of them, 99 Burning’s history actually stretches back to the early ’90s, making them peers of the now-defunct aforementioned grunge bands. However, grunge represents only a part of the 99 Burning menu. The fuzz-baked riffage of “She’s My Addiction” suggests a late ’60s-early ’70s garage-rock crush, bordering on psychedelia. “TV Child” seduces with its layers of bluesy chords while “Cat” is dirty hard rock at its most lusty.
While you can make direct comparisons to nearly every track on Midnight in America to other grunge and heavy metal acts (“Cat,” for example, echoes the anthemic rock of Pearl Jam), 99 Burning have a flavor all their own. They’re probably more rhythmic than most of the rock groups that followed Nirvana, emphasizing grooves and guitar jams over white noise. “Lonely Skies” will actually have your hips moving.
Rating: 9/10
