When Ash released its debut 1977 in 1996, most of the band members were too young to get into the clubs in which the band played. With the release of its latest album, Nu-Clear Sounds (Dreamworks), Ash shows growing up doesn’t necessarily mean growing old.
Ash’s sound is one part ragged power punk like Nirvana and one part catchy Brit-pop like Blur. The album opens with a double-hit of pure power pop. Jesus Says and Wild Surf are catchy, fun and full of energy. Jesus Says takes the prize in the catchy category with its woo-hoo chorus that will stick in your head for days. Both songs combine the guitar assault of punk with pop hooks.
Later in the album, the harsher songs take on a darker edge. On songs such as Death Trip 21 and Fortune Teller, Ash goes back to its punk roots. Death Trip 21 is a sonic explosion with crashing guitars and waves of feedback. On Fortune Teller Tim Wheeler’s sneering vocals are backed up with a punk tune worthy of the Sex Pistols. The drawback to these songs is they make you bang your head but don’t have the hooks to stay in your head.
The band shows a softer side that most punk-influenced bands lack with the slower songs on Nu-Clear Sounds. Burn Out is a more somber and melancholy song that only releases energy in the choruses. Aphrodite is a pretty, if standard, alternative ballad. The standout on the album is Folk Song. Ash puts away the punk guitar and breaks out the synthesizers and strings to create a truly beautiful song. Folk Song shouldn’t be so close to the beginning of the album because the song makes you keep hitting the repeat button and keeps you from moving on.
Only one song on the album, Numbskull, is worth skipping. It is as stupid as the title implies. On this song Ash’s youth proves to be a drawback. The songs sound like a bad Black Sabbath cover done by a high-school garage band.
The other thing that mars the album is the production. Butch Vig puts such a clean and polished shine over everything that the harder songs lose some of their energy. At times the music sounds more like a product than anything that expresses real emotion. Of course it’s not surprising. Vig has a talent for sucking the emotion out of the bands he works with. It’s not enough to make the album bad, but it is noticeable and makes you wonder what the band would be like without the spit and polish.
Production aside, Nu-Clear Sounds succeeds on its high points. It’s not an important album or a masterpiece – it’s just a fun, occasionally touching album. And sometimes, that’s all you need.
