831 Ash - 1977 (1996)

 831 Ash - 1977 (1996)

Studio Album - Britpop



About the Act:

Ash are a Northern Irish band from Downpatrick (Which sounds like an instruction to a dog called Patrick.) They were formed in 1989, released their first full album in 1996, confusingly called 1977. It was the first of seven albums. They are still going.


About the Album:

This was the band's first album, named after the year when they were born and Star Wars was released.


My History with this Album:

None


Review:

They can't quite make up their minds. Let's be generous and say that there are a number of influences here - punk, garage, Britpop, grunge, and metal even at times.

Right, I've done being generous. They are too mainstream to be metal, but there are metal guitar riffs very occasionally, especially in the first track where there are some odd chord shifts too. They are too sweet to be punk, although Kung Fu is probably their best attempt at that. They are too washy to be grunge, although they do go for the quiet/loud/quiet thing that Nirvana did so well. All in all, they sound like a Britpop band, quite a generic Britpop band. 

I didn't hate it, I just didn't really like it either. I was bored. Most of the songs are a big wash of guitars, uninspired lyrics, sung with no obvious conviction. The singer (Tim Wheeler) has an unfortunately generic Britpop voice. One or two track titles show promise (The Girl From Mars for example), but they never really follow through with anything of interest.

So, if you like Britpop of the washy kind, big guitar sounds and lyrics that will just pass you by, then by all means, be my guest, have a listen. I wouldn't object to listening to it again, as long as I had something interesting to do at the same time.


6/10


Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/6WPJ2wQLi4SskpTkmofkr9

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOwWaSFtN-a0CDCi5u6i-_gnGIwPsledQ

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1977_(Ash_album)



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