“It’s kinda hard to believe that we’re still standing here,” Nick Norton vocalises in iconic Australian rock band, The Angels’, new album ‘Ninety Nine’.
The release coincided with the commencement of the band’s ‘50 Not Out’ national tour celebrating their 50th anniversary, and sits comfortably in the band’s oeuvre as their 14th studio album.
The Angels performed hits from their new album at local Hornsby RSL on Saturday the 20th of July.
Named Australia’s longest-lasting band in the book ‘The 100 Best Australian Albums’, The Angels helped redefine the Australian pub-rock tradition. Now, band members John Brewster, Rick Brewster, Sam Brewster, Tom Brewster, and Nick Norton are shaking up the Australian rock scene once again with ‘Ninety Nine’.
The new album showcases a re-energised, renewed, and revitalised Angels. “We’ve found a new energy,” says bass player, Sam Brewster. “I think you can hear that on this record.”
“‘Ninety Nine’ has all the crucial elements of our best albums ¬ the instant “hits,” the slow-burners, the intensity of the melodies and the intriguing lyrics… ‘Heartbeats’ is one song that sits right in the common perception of what an Angels song is. It has all the elements – strong guitar riff, great lyrics, melody, harmonies, melodic solo … nice one, Nick!” says one of the band’s founding members, Rick Brewster.
After joining the band in 2011 on drums, Nick Norton became The Angels’ lead singer in 2023, and ‘Ninety Nine’ is the first album with Nick out front.
“He’s an amazing lyricist,” John praises. “He has a great ‘character’ voice, which is really important in The Angels.”
“Music runs in our genes,” explains Rick when asked how The Angels have continued to make music together for so many years. “The Brewster musical thread began with John’s and my grandfather, Hooper Brewster, through to our father, Arthur, to John and me and now to John’s sons Sam, Tom and Harry, and my son Jode… And the amazing Nick Norton out front is just the icing on the cake! The younger generations coming into the band at different times have a lot to do with the continuing creativity. [You can] check out Jode’s sax solo in ‘Follow The Red Thread’!”
The record rages with the electricity of a new band just emerging on the scene. “I haven’t been this excited about anything we’ve done in the studio for many, many years,” The Angels guitarist and founding member, John Brewster, says. “This, to me, is a benchmark album.”
When asked about the band’s plans for the future, Rick answers, “As long as the fans keep coming to the gigs and listening to our music, we’ll keep making it.”
Tickets for their upcoming shows are available via theangels.com.au
