Possibly the best
album yet by the band
Ash. Certainly better than the somewhat lacking-in-songs
Nu-clear Sounds. It peaked in the UK Album Chart at number 1, and deservedly so.
Absolutely loads of the tracks from this album have been released as singles. You'll know Burn baby burn, for its rapid, infective guitar plucking, with singularly fantastic vocal ranges accompanying. You'll probably recognise Shining Light, a song which has been compared to the Charlatans, though without access to their music I really can't comment.
Sometimes is also fantastic, and Candy simply grows on you more and more as you listen to it, though the video can be best described as naff.
Other recommended listens from the album are the opening track Walking Barefoot, a fucking fantastic song to run through your head for days afterwards, with lyrics which touch the heart. Nicole is bloody decent as well, as is Pacific Palisades.
There are only a couple of tracks on this album don't seem to make a lasting impression, being Shark and Submission. A strange change from the sublime brilliance of the other tracks.
All I can say is, buy this album, you will not regret it. The tunes plucked out by the guitarist alone are worth the money, and combined with catchy, interesting lyrics which don't annoy even after multiple full plays of the album, you'd be a fool to miss out.
Call me overawed, call me anything you want - attached are the lyrics from my favourite track, Walking Barefoot. Don't know why, but the section starting 'When the summer's gone and the room is cold' strikes me personally.
Your beauty took my breath away,
In awe all day
Your company was so relaxing
Easy going ways
We saw the first signs of summer
And springtime change
Walking barefoot along the sand,
I hadn't planned to stay
Yeah we've been walking barefoot all summer
It'll be sad my friend
To see it come to an end
Why can't we just quit
You are broke all summer
But you still sing
Don't need money when it's sunny
Don't need anything
Just need music and sun and laughter
And no currency
The sun on your bare shoulders
It comes for free
Yeah we've been walking barefoot all summer
It'll be sad my friend
To see it come to an end
Why can't we just quit
Yeah we've been walking barefoot all summer
Why can't we just design
To live like this all the time
Why can't we just quit
Sand ran through my fingers
And the land was hot
Anonited by Apollo and his chariot
Disarmed by your charm,
That night I felt it again
Addictive and consuming,
Love's sweet pain
Yeah we've been walking barefoot all summer
It'll be sad my friend
To see it come to an end
Why can't we just quit
Our days are as the wind blows us,
We are free
You've a quiet life out of town
Of coastal ease
The wind it has no pattern,
We take life slow
And when the night has fallen
Our cup overflows
When the summer's gone and the room is cold
When you're looking at the rain and it just won't go
Remember when the sun was high, up above
Remeber when the days were long
And we were in love
Yeah we've been walking barefoot all summer
It'll be sad my friend
To see it come to an end
Why can't we just quit
Yeah we've been walking barefoot all summer
Why can't we just design
To live like this all the time
Why can't we just quit
For the interested, the full tracklisting is given below.
Track Listing:
1. Walking Barefoot
2. Shining Light
3. Burn Baby Burn
4. Candy
5. Cherry Bomb
6. Submission
7. Someday
8. Pacific Palisades
9. Shark
10. Sometimes
11. Nicole
12. There's A Star
13. World Domination
The singles which were released off this album were (in order) Shining Light, Burn Baby Burn, Sometimes, and Candy.