Music / Reviews
Review: Ash, Bierkeller
Picture the scene. It’s January 2015, you are a lovelorn adult staring blankly at your record player. Aching for those fuzzy chords, those dreamy vocals that sit prettily atop the songwriting juggernaut known as Ash. Sure, you could dust off your copy of Petrol for the millionth time. But you crave something new. It’s been eight years since Ash released a studio album; surely they’ve stocked up a wealth of new riffs just waiting to be unleashed?
Of course they have. This summer, Ash released the aptly-titled Kablammo! – and it was nothing short of explosive. Tonight they kicked off their extensive European tour in support of the new record at the Bierkeller.
When you own a stellar back catalogue of hits, opening with a new song is a bit of a defiant move. Yet Go! Fight! Win! has just enough sonic gusto to blow away the cobwebs of nostalgia. This isn’t a band reliving their glory days; but simply a band that never really stopped being glorious.
For the next hour and a half, Ash take the crowd through a seamless blend of old and new material. The driving directness of Cocoon sitting comfortably next to the swoony chorus of A Life Less Ordinary. It’s like the nineties, the noughties and the now blended together in one sweaty venue. The crowd inevitably erupt for the classics; but who can blame them when the summery melody of Angel Interceptor is a perfect example of a song that is as romantic as it is rocking.
As frontman Tim belts out the hilarious lyrics to Kung Fu, it’s refreshing to hear that his vocals are still endearingly flat. Whilst the majority of large rock bands now use pitch correction and digital trickery live Ash remain a stripped back three-piece – and they’re all the more compelling in their lack of perfection.
Soaring renditions of Shining Light and Burn Baby Burn provide the cherry on top of a sweet yet raucous evening. Seeing Ash is a bit like seeing a friend who you haven’t seen in ages. All the familiarity and fun is still there, 20 years on, and still leaving you wanting more.
Our newsletters emailed directly to you
