The first half of Ash's 26 single A-Z Series is now available on CD and proves that if there's one thing the Downpatrick rockers know how to do, it's write a catchy tune.
With the growing popularity of digital downloads, it made perfect sense for Ash to abandon the conventional CD album format in favour of a series of digital download and vinyl only singles. Now, just over half way through the proposed 26 single A-Z Series (one for each letter of the alphabet, duh), it seems conventional CDs weren't such a bad idea after all.
Since die-hard fans will surely have downloaded these tracks already, they'll find no surprises here, but for the rest of us, A-Z Vol. 1 presents a pretty good cross section of the Downpatrick band's capabilities. Their newer synth-pop sensibilities are showcased nicely on the likes of 'True Love 1980' and 'Neon', while their punk rock beginnings are still evident in the metallish intro of 'The Dead Disciples' and the stabbing guitar of 'Pripyat.' For a band who've been on the go since 1992, they still sound fresh, successfully combining new trends with older techniques, by no means an easy task.
That these thirteen tracks are all designed to be singles means there's very few lulls in this album. Sweet ballad 'Song of Your Desire' slows the pace late in the game, but aside from that, it's all go. Catchy hooks abound, while Ash continue to tip their caps to classic rock with a number of superb electric guitar solos, the most powerful and adept of which can be found on 'Joy Kicks Darkness', which, at almost the six minute mark, is the album's longest song, and a clear highlight.
But, with no disrespect to the thirteen songs on Volume 1, the A-Z Series would have made a neater, tidier package as a double album, and no doubt that's what it will eventually become. Clearly, someone's in a hurry to get these tracks out on good old fashioned CDs, and can't wait until the end of September when the series is due to be completed.
