Ash
Islands

The Ash reach the milestone of their seventh album, three years after returning to the standard format (after a series of individually released singles, the "A-Z Series," with which, looking back now, they were true pioneers) with the good "Kablammo!" of 2015.

The new studio effort is titled "Islands" and is produced by the same leader of the Northern Irish band, Tim Wheeler. It is also noteworthy that the album is released through Infectious Music, a historic record label that launched Ash along with other more or less known names of the British alt-rock scene of the late '90s - early 2000s (notably the Subways, even though it was called Infectious Records at that time and changed its name after the relaunch in 2009).

Compared to the rougher (though not too much) "Kablammo!" (which represented a true reset of Ash's career, with a rather marked return to their roots), the new work leans more toward power pop shores and highlights Tim Wheeler's melodic talent, who still boasts incredibly fresh songwriting despite over twenty years of a distinguished career.

Certainly instrumental was the joint tour with genre gurus Weezer; clear traces of the sound emblematic of the American band are evident in various episodes of "Islands" (the guitars of "All That I Have Left," the beach melancholy of "Don't Need Your Love," the sparkling power pop of "Silver suit"). Elsewhere, the journey started with "Kablammo!" continues, even more ruggedly with the fantastic "Buzzkill," a rapid bullet that seems straight out of the debut "Trailer," with razor-like guitars and the wonderful backing vocals of Damien O’Neill and Mickey Bradley from the Undertones enhancing everything.

The single "Annabel" sounds as if the classic "A Life Less Ordinary" was included in "Free All Angels," with a delicate hint of Foo Fighters, while the opener "True Story" is a gentle pop rock piece that takes something from the La's and contrasts it with a bitter and disillusioned text. There are some new elements in the sound (though very controlled) in the Franz Ferdinand-inspired "Confessions In The Pool," with a couple of decent nods to Abba, and in "Did Your Love Burn Out?," which looks towards the Arctic Monkeys of the now-classic AM.

"Incoming Waves," placed at the end, is a crescendo ballad that reassures of further future growth in the band's offerings. After all, Tim Wheeler, at only 41 years old (despite a long presence in the scene), may still have a lot to say.

Best track: Did Your Love Burn Out?