Kablammo!
Ash
(Ear Music)
Three stars
After Ash's previous release, 2007's Twilights of the Innocence, the band took a break from the album-making game and produced a string of diverse online-only singles that had them exploring a variety of styles, ranging from electro and dance-punk to synth-pop, with decent results.
Now back on the album-recording wagon, the group return with their sixth release, Kablammo!, and bring some of that eclecticism along to the studio in addition to those sugary melodies and fizzy riffs that have long been Ash's stock and trade. Cocoon is propulsive, with its stomping drum beats and ecstatic hooks. The tenderly rendered Free makes good use of Tim Wheeler's voice which, although limited in range, continues to sound achingly vulnerable.
Despite its title, Hedonism is another sweet slice of power-pop, while Dispatch varies things slightly with its disco-basslines. Kablammo! ends with a pair of reflective tracks: For Eternity is a classy mobile-phone-in-the-air power-ballad, while the wide-eyed closer, Bring Back the Summer, gleams with its 1980s digital drums and anthemic chorus. Kablammo! has Ash sounding more seasoned without losing their youthful vigour.
sasaeed@thenational.ae
