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Rating: In 1994, making a rock album in Northern Ireland couldn’t mean making brit-pop, especially if you are seventeen and have a guitar that still sounds very grunge. The youthful debut of Ash, two years before “Girl From Mars” and the commercial triumph of “1977”, is a precious testimony of a brit-pop prehistory with decidedly American sounds, rough, scratched, and lo-fi. That is, light years away from the brit-sound.
So, between an oral exam and a homework (without touring, because school had to be finished), "Trailer" was born: eleven pieces of early '90s indie-rock, balanced between grunge and punk influences, between Nirvana and Dinosaur Jr. Tim does not yet have a clean and gentle voice, but a raw and unsteady one; his guitar does the work of two, handling both (not trivial) solos and managing the accompaniment, always very effected and noisy; Mark's bass is eternally distorted; Rick’s drums hit hard and don't miss a beat, rarely slowing down. “Intense Thing” is a result well representative of this alchemy between pimply rage and talent: a violent, very raw piece, recorded fairly poorly, with almost noise-like openings. Applause-worthy.
Elsewhere, Ash recalls Pavement, venture into indie territories that will not return in their production, except in some residues of "1977" or in some nostalgic b-side. A pity, because everything here seems to work great. The peaks are “Uncle Pat” and “Petrol”, two songs with simple structure, with a repeated verse that effectively replaces the chorus, a bass that infinitely recycles the same riff, Wheeler who indulges in amused solos, evocative lyrics around a ramshackle and imaginative adolescence. There's an atmosphere of America’s wheat fields, barefoot. The same goes for another remarkable lo-fi indie piece like “Different Today”: a memorable riff, furious drums, a slacker voice lost in a very dirty background.
“Get Out” is pure punk-core: a minute and a half of demonic noise and shouted phrases, while “Punk boy” sounds almost like the punk-rock of the Green Day of those years. There’s even room for two semi-instrumental experiments (“Obscure Thing” and “Hulk Hogan Bubblebath”), between noise and hardcore, between Sonic Youth and the Nirvana of “Bleach”. The more melodic ending of “Day Of The Triffids” is delirious but remarkable, another respectable piece along with the small cult that is the straightforward rock of “Jack Names The Planets”. A hidden gem, American from top to bottom, to be rediscovered.
I’ll finish with some nostalgia. I remember the 7 NME gave this album by unknown seventeen-year-olds: I still keep that dusty copy. But above all I still remember with a certain dose of inexplicable emotion when Ash was guests on an inevitably dreadful show by Red Ronnie on Videomusic. It was after “1977”, in 1996, and the studio was full of screaming punked-out girls who preferred (thankfully) Ash over Take That. And the three, still young, played some songs live. Some they picked themselves, and they were the hits to promote the album: “Girl From Mars”, “Goldfinger”, “Oh Yeah”. However, two tracks were chosen by the screaming punked-out girls. Would you believe it? (You must, because I have a clear memory of it). They had to play, a bit surprised, “Uncle Pat” and “Petrol”: two tracks from "Trailer".
Now, you don't make history with ifs and buts. But it is legitimate to wonder, in the name of those discerning girls, what Ash would be now if they had preserved the carefree courage of this album. Without answering, of course…
Tracklist and Lyrics
01 Season (03:01)
Late September you walked into my life
I remember the autumn, I remember that night
That smile on your face, the pale pale moon
All good times still left to come
I remember the autumn, I remember that night
That smile on your face, the pale pale moon
All good times still left to come
Awoke by a phone call one cold night
In my dream you had been going to die
I felt so scared that I was going to loose you
When I answered the phone I already knew
I cried bitter tears you had been taken your own life
Down the corridor to the bedroom
I sit there in silence all alone
Alone is all I'll ever be
Except at night when you visit my dreams
It tears my mind I can't see you tomorrow
02 Jack Names the Planets (03:10)
We were walking, walking in two worlds
In the gardens of sunlight home
Bad children on the phone
Withheld me to withhold you
Said I'd kiss you if you want
You've got things back to front
I got a letter, I sent it back
I didn't like It, what you had
Jack names the planets after you
When I turned you had gone away
So I didn't skip upon that day
Morose feeling, small mind
Don't touch it's face you might like its kind
Said I'd kiss you if you want
You've got things back to front
Don't mind your spelling, it ain't so bad
Things like that they never made me quite so mad as you
Jack names the planets after you
I wish you'd come back everythings ready for you
You are welcome if you plan to
You can come walking and you know where
You've got understand that you got to care
Said I'd kiss you if you want
You've got things back to front
My mother's dying I've got to go home
But there's more you wont be solely on your own
Jack names the planets after you
04 Uncle Pat (03:12)
I set off this morning
Down the road along the river
Which I take but once a year
My walk will take me by the shore
Then inland for a mile or more
From the cold sea spray
A small wood stands upon the hill
An old house near it lies in ruins
Forgotten long ago
And here in a clearing, overgrown with moss and ivy
Is your lonely grave
At dusk I will make my way
Along the lanes and through the fields
To where my cottage is
But before I step inside for bed
I'll look up at the stars as we had
All those years ago
So here's for Uncle Pat
06 Petrol (04:10)
The cars come up the drive, so many people inside,
Under the stars they smile, they want to invade my home
I pace the darkened hall, try to consider it all
In the dull lamps glow and the truth is I don't know
The cars stop outside, they all stay inside
The house is drenched in light, but what have I done wrong?
I quietly climb the stairs, I remember all the years,
I check everything is right I need to hurry-now!
I've been preparing for days, I know exactly what to say
'No one will be around, no one will take me down'
They'll all get in back in the cars, and maybe they'll go home
But the things they'll never know, like where it is I go
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