Guess Who's Back In Town? Ash--Nu-Clear Sounds

Yeah, I'm back.

After a nice visit to the Valley Of The Sun, I am back in the Valley of Ice. Thankfully I got home before the terrible shooting tragedy in Tucson. I didn't do a lot of memorable things, but I did visit The Museum of Musical Instruments (MIM) in Scottsdale for a brief time. It's definitely a museum worth visiting, with over 4,000 musical instruments from all around the globe, including some pretty cool rock instruments from Belarus, supposedly built to be able to survive a nuclear blast. I especially enjoyed the Asian and African sections. They have an auditorium there where they host a diverse selection of musical performers, and they have workshops there, including a gamelan workshop which they will be running through May. If you are in the Phoenix area you should check this place out, along with the fabulous Heard Museum, which houses a tremendous collection of Native American Art, including the late Conservative Senator Barry Goldwater's rather large collection of Kachina dolls. Also ancient Mimbres pottery. They also have a great gift shop, which is actually for the most part a consignment store for Native American artists.

For a great Mexican meal in Phoenix, check out the Barrio Cafe. While the place is somewhat unassuming, the cuisine is not. For an easterner getting a chance to sample delicious regional (non-Sonoran) cuisine of that quality is a truly unguilty pleasure. Chef Silvana Salcido Esparza was actually nominated for the James Beard prize in 2010. But if you are in the American Southwest for any reason, if you don't get Mexican food somewhere, you are missing out big time. For great pizza, check out local landmark Bianco's Pizza downtown. Further proof that great pizza is obtainable outside New York. But back to work.

Post-77

Nu-Clear Sounds is an album by Northern Irish melodic pop punkers Ash that is fairly unappreciated. After their huge hit album 1977 made them teenage superstars across the Atlantic, this album was deemed to be a bit of a changeup. The follow up Free All Angels has been construed by many to be a return to form. On their third full length Nu-Clear Sounds they move away from the bone shiveringly loud fast pop tunes a bit. They slow down a tad here, and provide us with some expressive ballads. But they continue to produce tuneful loud pop songs, albeit in a more experimental way. I like this album a lot.!

I know that its natural for people to want a band they love to never change, to keep pumping out variations of songs from their favorite album. But creative people like to challenge themselves and to try new things--sometimes they crash and burn, but often they find new and interesting ways to express themselves. The Clash evolved throughout their too short career, The Clean have never made two albums quite the same stylistically. Look at David Bowie's chameleon-like musical journey. If you can't embrace new things, life can get stale pretty quickly.

This 1998 incarnation of Ash consists of Tim Wheeler on Guitar and Vocals, Charlotte Hatherly on Guitar and vocals, Mark Hamilton on bass, Rick McMurray on Drums. The album begins strongly with the one two punch of Jesus Says and Wild Surf. Jesus Says is a swaggering Stonesy, Jesus and Mary Chainish party starter. Wild Surf is a bracingly loud update on 50's music.The album also ends extremely strongly with the classic A Life Less Ordinary. "In the slow haze of the afternoon, swaying hips, made like a gun, blackest sails, the most beautiful..." Not too shabby at all.



But there are lots of interesting moments here. Ash execute some pretty cool funk on Death Trip 21 venturing toward Primal Scream in their noise phase. Low Ebb is a droney dirgey yet melodious ballad. I'm Gonna Fall is reminiscent of a beefed up Sunday Morning by the Velvets. Interesting guitar work throughout on this album. Folk Song is precisely that; an excellent Ash punk-pop approximation of a hair ballad.

But there is also plenty to rock to here. Fortune Teller continues in the vein of the opener Jesus Says. Numbskull is riff ready punk arena tune. The ear bleeder Projects is not far off from classic Bailter Space. I really like that on this album the songs are not samey tunes, banged out one after the other.  It shows what this band can do when they are allowed to cut loose.



One of the great things about Ash is that most of their full length albums are available for a pittance, probably under a buck used on the Internet. And I don't think they have put out a bad album. From teen sensations to music biz veterans. Charlotte Hatherly has moved on and pursued a solo career, producing a few very good albums over the last few years. And while it seemed Ash was going to call it quits recently, it appears their career has been invigorated with the A to Z singles they have put out, now lovingly compiled on 2 Cd's for the discerning audiophile. They look to the future, but they also embrace the past. In addition to the Thin Lizzy tribute I posted from Youtube, they put out as a b-side a nice version of Teenage Kicks by Derry icons, The Undertones.

Do yourself a favor and check out one of the best Irish bands of the last fifteen years.