Meltdown
Irish punk-pop vets Ash have vacillated between poles of pop-suffused charm and energetic thrash on their albums since 1989, and this fifth release (the first for LA-based indie Record Collection after the collapse of their original American label delayed its stateside release) finds them fusing the best of those approaches with polish and some success on the lead single "Orpheus" and elsewhere. Recording for the first time in California seems to have imparted a brightness to even poison pen letters like "Evil Eye" and the hard-rocking, if cliched political agit-prop of the title track and the raging condemnation of conformity, "Clones" (also theme song for the Lucas ArtsStar Warsvideo gameRepublic Commando). The quartet offers up a bonafide, back-to-the-80's head-banger of a power ballad via "Starcrossed" while incorporating new wave-y dynamics in "Renegade Cavalcade." Three exclusive bonus tracks are featured on the American release: the droning "Shockwave," the ballad "Solace" and the blitz-"Cool It Down"'s blitz-pop. This deluxe edition also features a DVD that includes videos for the previous "Girl From Mars" single and the album's "Orpheus" (also the subject of a "making of" clip here), "Clones" and "Starcrossed," as well as an album mini-documentary.--Jerry McCulley