After adding a new member and switching American labels, Northern Ireland’s Ash finally released its third album, Nu-Clear Sounds this week, almost a year after the record was initially released in the UK and Europe. The band became one of the toasts of the UK. rock scene after cutting its second LP, 1977 in 1996, and seemed poised to reach American audiences via such alternative hits as “Girl From Mars” and “Kung Fu”.
But business issues plagued Ash in the States shortly after the release of 1977 and after expanding to a four-piece in 1997 by bringing rhythm guitarist Charlotte Hatherley into the fold, the group returned to the studio with producers Owen Morris and Chris Kimsey for the follow-up.
MTV News recently sat down with Ash and talked with the band about how the addition of Hatherley affected the way in which Nu-Clear Sounds was recorded.
“We had a few months right just when Charlotte joined the band,” explained frontman Tim Wheeler, “where we went out to this farmhouse in the country, and that’s when we wrote all the new songs and developed the new sound, really. So we went into the record ready for that.”
“We did a lot of live work on Nu-Clear Sounds as well,” added bassist Mark Hamilton. “I think every track, apart from one, was cut live in the studio, which was the first time we’ve done that, really. Previously we’d just get the drums and bass and just layer it up.”
“But doing it live as a band sort of worked a lot better,” he continued, “and I think you can hear that on the record.”
Ash played a special acoustic gig at last month’s CMJ Music Fest in New York City and is currently mapping out plans for an extended U.S. tour later this year.
By David Basham