While most other twenty-five year old’s look back wistfully on a half-remembered adventure in higher education from an emasculating job, the members of Ash mark their first quarter century with a stunning Greatest Hits compilation that would flatter a career twice the length. Bastards. This compilation is nothing less than we have come to expect from any Ash release, a breathtaking, whistle-stop journey into the sonically sublime. From their earliest singles, the Downpatrick three made up for their occasional technical limitations with a youthful vim that put more seasoned acts to shame, and though early material could be a little workmanlike, stuff like “Girl From Mars” and “Jack Names the Planets” bristle with joyful naivety.
The addition of enigmatic guitarist Charlotte Hatherley seemed to add a hitherto missing ingredient to the mix. Despite Tim Wheeler’s writer’s block and mixed reviews, the new line-up debut Nu-Clear Sounds birthed spectacular singles such as “Jesus Says” and the endearingly romantic “A Life Less Ordinary” - well worth two quid of anyone’s hard-earned.
Of course, it’s the latest chapter of Ash’s brief yet tumultuous history that has brought them the greatest rewards and has seen them escape from the jaws of bankruptcy only to be propelled back to the top of the charts. Free All Angels was the monster album of 2001, and is well represented here, with no less than five beautiful, bouncing bundles of pop genius, from the sorrowful “Sometimes” to the positively glitzy “There’s a Star”. Each plays like a spirited FUCK YOU! to those who doubted they’d make it so far.
Add top new chartbuster “Envy” and a twenty-two track free B-sides compilation to the mix and you have a very satisfying* Best o*f indeed. Not bad work for four individuals only just old enough to legally drive a hire van. Bastards.