Ash Twighlight Of The Innocents by: Tom Bradbury Mon:09-Jul-07 Label: Warner Year: 2007 WB rating 68 out of 100

The main thing Ash always had to offer was the immediacy of their melodies and their youthful energy. Now having passed their all important 30th birthdays, they can no longer rely on the vigor of young adulthood to fuel their songs and their spirit. Ash tracks of old like, ‘Oh yeah’, had an unrestrained enthusiasm and a precocious air that only youth and freshness can provide. Tim Wheeler’s vocals were less calculated – he sounded like a 19 yr old, which was great because he was. It was natural and poppy, in an organic rather than a structured way. Twilight Of The Innocents sounds altogether more calculated and professional. It’s an unavoidable transition, and Ash have pulled it off with mixed results. These guys have studied all the power pop greats, from Cheap Trick to the mighty Revolver, and their careful consideration has resulted in an album that is equal parts frustration and catchiness.

On the low points of Twilight Of The Innocents, Ash are in danger of sounding like Bowling For Soup, particularly on tracks like ‘Blacklisted’. The band has been at this for years and that is precisely the problem with the weaker tracks on this album. First single ‘You Can’t Have It All’ is a prime example of this, positively reeking of over-calculation and coming off sounding far too professional – like a band made up of record producers. On ‘Palace Of Excess’, Ash run into similar problems, doing a poor impression of Cheap Trick – Wheeler has become too chameleon like vocally, often it is all too clear who he is trying to imitate. The song does, however, have a bridge that allows respite, where Wheeler sounds more like himself.

Ash’s craftsmanship is much more effective on ‘End Of The World’. I’ts still obviously a work of synthesis, but a much more coherent one. Surely a song written so fans can waver their cigarette lighters back and forth at shows, it fulfills its function splendidly. Corny it may be, but there is an important degree of self awareness that saves it. This hit-and-miss approach is a major problem, but it appears Ash may have their own solution, having announced that this will be their last album, and that from now on they will only produce singles. This decision may turn out to be the best one they have ever made, for while the album does not work particularly well over all, there are some great individual tracks.

Album opener, and the first song released from Twilight Of The Innocents, ‘I Started A Fire’, shows shades of Ash’s vintage infectiousness. Rather than sounding contrived, it instead sounds completely natural. Perhaps most importantly however, Ash’s trademark energy is present, and it manages to carry the band through all four and a half minutes. Here, Wheeler’s voice is perfectly considered and his lyrics have a sense of immediacy – they are straight mindless pop but it’s entirely appropriate – “I want you bad/I need you bad”.

‘Dark and Stormy’, with a guitar part almost identical to that found in Edwyn Collins’ magnificent, ‘Never Met A Girl Like You Before’, has a sound perfectly reflected by its title. Moody and withdrawn, with a chorus mid-era Church would be proud of, ‘Dark and Stormy’ is reverb filled and Wheeler’s clean as ice vocals cut through the track like a crisp winter breeze.

Twilight Of The Innocents is not Ash’s best work but there are glimpses of their early selves to be found. This may be their last album, but there is little doubt there are some beautifully crafted singles to look forward to. For a band that is so song centered, they are probably better off just focusing on producing really slick power pop anthems – one at a time.