Ash : 'Joy Kicks Darkness'
Released: Out Now!!!
Label: Atomic Heart
PURELY for taking me back to the heady all-night-party that was my university Leaver’s Ball, Ash’s latest single gets my vote.
All dressed-up, surrounded by friends, swaying happily to the soft-rock of 'Girl from Mars' and trying not to let my heels sink too deeply into the mud that was the tent’s dance floor…What better associations could a band hope to conjure?
'Joy Kicks Darkness' (a titular homage to beat poet Jack Kerouac) begins gently, gradually crescendo-ing with emphatic military drumming and a splendid beast of a guitar riff. It’s hard to fault a song which contemplates mortality and possesses lyrics which reference Ulysses and funeral pyres.
Ash deserve to still be releasing music if they’re this cerebral – 'Joy Kicks Darkness' is the perfect antidote to the mass produced ditties which top the charts.
In 2007 the band enigmatically shunned the traditional album format, instead opting to release singles in series. It’s a quality over quantity ethos that has paid off, and allowed them to shine by keeping the sound fresh.
Naturally for the Northern Ireland lads, their classic spacey theme creeps into the chorus with: “Sailing into the sun/ This is our time.” And for 5 minutes 55 seconds I’m back in that muddy field, full of wine, optimism and love.
Thanks Tim and co, keep it up.
Words: Harriet Marsh
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