After the Voodoo Dolls parted ways in 1994, Evan Shore formed the Nines creating the perfect opportunity for him to sing his own songs. Dave Harrison (also of the Voodoo Dolls) joined at the outset, and is included on this record though he moved on shortly after the recording. While the Nines were active for several years in the Boston club scene, by 2000, Evan began to test the waters with a side project named Muck and the Mires. After a few years of coexistence, he turned his complete attention to Muck and the Mires and the Nines quietly disbanded.
This single, recorded just after the Nines formed, updates the sound that Shore had spent years honing. “Crawl in a Hole,” originally written for the Voodoo Dolls, is a mid-tempo, melancholy original that is more refined than most of Shore’s prior output. One might say even radio-friendly. This time the party is left for the flip, where the Nines discharge a high-energy version of the Five Canadians’ “Writing on the Wall.” Faster and louder than the original, this has hints of MC5 in its dna.