Ash
Free All Angels
(Infectious)

www.ash-official.com

Let me tell you about my girlfriend. She's a real
cutie pie. She recently went on a trip to London and
brought me some gifts: a little Stonehenge replica,
and the new Ash CD Free All Angels. You see, her name
is Ashli, and she thought it would be neat to bring me
an Ash CD, since that's what everyone calls her.

Ash is a four piece Irish band, and for awhile had
their CDs released on this side of the pond.I had all
of Ash's previous releases (the band, not the girl)
and I had always thought they were okay, but not
great. I felt they had the potential to be a wonderful
band, some songs were splendid slices of power pop,
but they were mostly too concerned with how loud their
guitars would play.

I didn't care for the first one (Trailer) at all, but
had never got around to selling it. The second one
(1977) had a great song ("Kung Fu"), but the rest was
so-so. The third one (Nu-Clear Sounds) was an
improvement, but I had basically given up on them. I
guess I had overrated them. I knew that "Free All
Angels" was released a few months ago, but I didn't
feel like putting in the expense only to be
disappointed. So, it took my cutie-pie girlfriend to
go to England and get a copy for me to listen to it.

My immediate first reaction, was "Oh, I am such an
idiot! Why didn't I get this sooner?" They finally
fulfilled their potential, maturing much more than the
two years since their last record. There are still one
or two songs where Ash says "look at what great guitar
players we are" but the rest of it is very pop. VERY
POP.

The basic sound reminds me of what Teenage Fanclub
used to be before they turned into a folk group (sorry
Fannies, I like them too, but you know it's true).
Energetic harmonies, crunchy guitars, sophisticated
arrangements, up beat lyrics. This is the perfect
summer album, so much so that listening to it in the
winter will make you depressed, making you long for
the summer again.

The first song "Walking Barefoot" has hypnotic guitar
swirls, similar to "Twisterella" by Ride. Other songs
will sweep you in as well - Shining Light, Cherry
Bomb, Burn Baby Burn also have a similar Ride/TFC
cross. Above all, two songs really show how much Ash
has changed - "Candy" and "Pacific Palisades". "Candy"
has samples from the Walker Brothers "Make It Easy On
Yourself", and "Pacific Palisades" is kind of an ode
to summer and the Beach Boys - something I'm sure
wouldn't have even crossed their minds before.

I'm sure something this polished will get released
domestically, but don't wait too long for it. If it
isn't released here, hopefully like me you have a
loved one who is travelling to the U.K. who can pick
up a copy for you.

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