Over the years, Ash have provided Vanyaland with some of the best and most amusing artist interviews. In June 2015 we got the scoop on the Irish band’s legendary hidden track “Sick Party”, and the following year Tim Wheeler went deep on the 20th anniversary tour behind their 1996 breakout LP 1977. Both interviews also featured a lot of Star Wars talk.
But as Ash get set to play Brighton Music Hall in Allston this Saturday (September 15) with Salem Wolves, for the Fenway Recordings Sessions’ landmark 400th party, we’re leaving the past behind and focusing on the now. And that now is Ash’s recent album Islands, which dropped in the spring. Led by tracks like “Buzzkill” and “Somersault,” the new record is super catchy, punchy, and infectious, harkening back to those 1977 glory days.
But this remains no nostalgia trip, even though Ash are one of those bands that have a knack for transporting us back to our youth. And its a testament to the enduring power of one of the true sparkplugs of indie guitar rock.
“There’s definitely been some challenging times in the band, even just times where’s it been difficult dealing with the music industry side of things,” Wheeler told Entertainment Focus back in May. “I think things are settled down and we feel like we’re in a good established place and we’ve got a really fun workflow in the studio. We’ve had our own studio for years. Our drummer lives in Scotland so he comes over every couple of months normally and we do a bunch of work. It’s always a really good time. We did a bunch of shows revisiting 1977 a couple of years ago and I think that was quite a fun time too. We’re feeling very confident with the music and what we’re doing.”
Hear that confidence throughout Islands via Spotify, and peep the super fresh new video for “Confessions in the Pool.”
Featured image by Alex John Beck.