Meltdown The Fly album review

Ash are, and always will be, a singles band. Fact. Forget the ‘album as an artistic statement’ caper and stop looking for hidden gems placed deep in the tracklisting - there’s simply no point. Whether it soundtracks a frug around grotty dancefloors or clumsy jumper-foraging in a dimly lit corner, Ash specialise in three and a half minutes of life-affirming Pop. End of story.

Surprisingly then, Meltdown - their fourth album - is their most fully realised and complete long player to date. Perhaps unsurprisingly, they’ve done it by taking up the challenge laid down by their latest release, the hit-gathering Intergalactic Sonic 7”s. Meltdown, in short, is stuffed to bursting with potential radio-humping, cranium-squatting tunes.

It kicks off in spectacular fashion with the title track. Drums are played with a couple of Thor’s hammers, and a riff emerges that’ll boot you across the room, tearing down posters of The Vines as it goes. It’s not so much a show of confidence, more a brazen slash on the over-stuffed racks of pretenders at your local tune emporium. With Rich Costey (Rage Against the Machine, Muse) clearly pushing the mix past safe decibel levels (waaay past eleven, Spinal Tap fans), Tim Wheeler and co emerge with a fist-pumping tune finally worthy of their Flying V’s. The face-shredding metal fury of “Clones” follows shortly after, the need for a hearing aid and neck brace tagging along behind it.

Ash may have returned with a row of Marshals as long as the Great Wall of China but, crucially, it hasn’t come close to dwarfing their seismic new tunes. And on this score, everything is reassuringly ship-shape and in order: Tim Wheeler croons like a doe-eyed choirboy, the band thrash like it’s 1995 while an old press shot ages in the attic, and perfectly acceptable verses give way to huge, glorious choruses. It’s business as usual and Ash are doing a roaring trade.

Album highlights come thick and fast, with “Evil Eye” - a sure fire chart-botherer - having the gall to apply a size nine to the pert arse of of “Burn Baby Burn”. “Won’t Be Saved”, meanwhile, skips through a field-full of Bluebells on E, and “Starcrossed” gracefully waltzes over the memories of “Oh Yeah” and “There’s a Star”. Only “On a Wave” lets the side down with a comparatively half-baked tune. It would, however, have Nu-Clear Sounds bawling into its Stooges collection.

On Meltdown, Ash have moved boldly with the times without sacrificing their raison d’etre. Hooks big enough to land Jaws and his dad lurk in every melody, while the band sound as urgent, relevant and goddam vital as ever. It’s without doubt the finest 42 minutes of unapologetic pop released so far this year. Fall under its spell or forever be branded a miserable twat.

Rating: 4/5

By Owen Hopkin