Ash

For Ash the last decade or so has been a journey of ups and downs. Their first album proper, 1977, saw them riding the crest of the Britpop wave, becoming stars with an infectious brand of guitar pop. Then came difficult and much heavier second album Nu-Clear Sounds which, depending on your viewpoint, was either disappointing or misunderstood and left Ash flirting with bankruptcy. However their third album, Free All Angels, saved the day by returning to a melodic guitar pop template, and launching the band back into the upper reaches of the charts for a considerable period of time. Add to all this the release of a greatest hits album towards the end of 2002 to consolidate their position, and it leaves an air of expectancy surrounding the release of their latest album, Meltdown.

The first impression you are left with after listening to Meltdown is that it is heavier than Free All Angels. The drums are loud, the guitars are louder and the whole album radiates an aggressive momentum. Having said that it doesn't quite go to the extremes that Nu-Clear Sounds did, and, although heavier, Tim Wheeler's ear for a decent melody is clearly working as well as ever.

Lead off single “Clones” is an awesome slice of guitar paranoia that leaves you craving the powerful chorus and feedback drenched guitar solo. “Out Of The Blue” is the more frightening big brother of “Burn Baby Burn”, sharing the same pop sensibilities, just a bit louder. Second single “Orpheus” punches and batters, but knows just when to pull back. And “On A Wave” is a blistering all out assault that somehow gets under the skin with its catchiness.

There are, however, some disappointing aspects to Meltdown. Too often the lyrics seem to have been written by a teenage metal fan. Hardly a track goes by without some inclusion of words like destruction or revolution, and it all seems a bit meaningless. Also certain song writing traits appear too often to make them effective. For example almost every track seems to start with guitar introduction, followed by unaccompanied vocals before the rest of the band come crashing back in. Finally the obligatory ‘boy likes girl but love is never easy' track “Satrcrossed” seems tired and formulaic, which is a surprise as Ash are normally masters of this particular genre.

Overall Meltdown rocks, and it's at its best when played at high volume. It's far from a classic, but it will provide a perfect soundtrack to any hot summer evenings we are blessed with this year. And more importantly these songs are going to sound fantastic interspersed with their older material live.