Trailer album review

Although Ash is a very recent British phenomenon (the band’s had several hits overseas, though it’s remained a secret here), its full-length debut, Trailer, couldn’t be more steeped in delightfully familiar American rock traditions.

With its back turned to any new wave of anything, Ash’s Trailer is a crackling, buzzing guitar pop record packed with enough hooks and melodies to make some of the band’s Stateside peers green with envy. Cleverly-penned songs pop out of this intoxicating morass of fuzzy guitars on each listen: the particularly notable “Jack Names the Planets” kicks off in riff-fest overdrive until the chorus’ syrupy harmonies sneak out to steal the limelight.

The band’s other secret ingredient is drummer Rick McMurray, whose furiously kinetic playing is as clearly at the helm of the band’s work as the coy songwriting of Tim Wheeler. For as clustered and knotted as Ash’s guitars are throughout Trailer, the album’s production is surprisingly open and airy (like seeing the band live in their practice space), giving McMurray’s drum work plenty of elbow room to drive the band’s songs to another level. “Different Today” is fuelled by his endless thrashing, and “Obscure Thing” with its ever-present crash cymbal adds another layer to the guitar fury and feedback. Packed with adolescent.