Last year, Reprise released Trailer by Ash. It was hardly more than an EP (clocking in at just over thirty minutes) but it represented a start in America. You see, although Ash is huge in the UK (they hail from Ireland), almost nobody in America seems to know about them. They sell out huge venues in Europe, they win poll after poll in the pages of NME, etc. However, the closest they have come in the States is having the song "Kung Fu" appear in the soundtracks to Angus and Jackie Chan's Rumble in the Bronx. The latter appearance also spawned a great little video, mixing scenes from the movie with Ash's fantastic live presence. The song itself is innocuous lyrically but quite potent sonically. Lines about loving kung fu movies and Jackie Chan are sung over a searing, hook-filled guitar line, creating what turned out to be one the highlights of 1995 for me and my friends.
Ash are back, and this time you had better take notice. 1996 shows the band (Tim Wheeler on vocals/guitar, Mark Hamilton on bass, and Rick McMurray on drums) in fine shape. Wheeler's lyrics, ranging from wacky sci-fi tales ("Day of the Triffids" from Trailer) to tender love songs, are just beginning to bloom fully and the band sound resplendent in their slightly fuzzy style. The new album, titled 1977 after the year Star Wars was released, is every bit as fun and catchy as the first one. In addition to fantastic, energetic romps like "Lose Control" and "Kung Fu", it also ventures into the realm of love songs.
Tim Wheeler is the "sensitive guy" in the group, the one who writes most of their material and prefers to croon rather than scream his words. Nowhere is this in better evidence than on tracks like "Girl From Mars". The song starts quietly enough and doesn't waste time getting to its hook, as Wheeler sings "Do you remember the time, you were a girl from Mars? I don't know if you knew that/Oh we stayed up late playing cards/Henry Winterman cigars/And you never told me your name/I still love you Girl From Mars". At this point, the rest of the band kicks in noisily and a masterpiece of lovesick youth ensues. All of Ash's best songs revolve around that heartfelt ideal of young love, and nobody sounds more convincing than the still-teenage Wheeler. His voice is high, decidedly unlike Barry White for example, and when he's writing about a girl, watch out.
1977 continues on in great fashion, and other highlights (UK singles all) include "Goldfinger", "Oh Yeah", and "Angel Interceptor". The latter is another of that quiet/loud/quiet style, and it also goes for the mushy stuff ("Don't you know that I'm in heaven with you/tomorrow you're coming home", etc.) It's a very cohesive, fluid album. The wash of guitar, the melodic basslines, and the relentless drums all combine to draw the listener onward. By the time it's over I find myself saying, "Hey is that it? Let's pop that sucker in again." The guys in Ash never takes themselves too seriously, either. One need only read their interviews to realize that. Need any further proof? Check out the "hidden track" at the end of 1977. It's a charming little recording called "Sick Party", in which Mark, Rick, Tim, their producer Owen Morris and some friends all got a bit drunk and recorded themselves...er, spilling their guts, so to speak.
Certainly this album won't appeal to your typical angry grunge devotee, but I think pop fans will be in heaven and it won't be long before young American girls join the screaming masses across the ocean. This band just keeps getting better and better. The songs get catchier (if that's possible), the live sets get tighter, and the lyrics get more mature with every try. In the UK at least, it seems Ash are poised to take over the pop scene. Select magazine listed the 100 most important days of 1995 and chose the day that Tim Wheeler finished high school as one them! In an interview, Hamilton said, "Before we break up, we'll have recorded at least one classic album." If they broke up tomorrow, I believe that statement would already ring true.
