Twilight Of The Innocents - Ash > Reviews > A long way from their best...

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Lacking inspiration
Lyrics	Mediocre
Quality and consistency of tracks	One hit and lots of B-sides
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Unmemorable
Value for Money	Satisfactory

Advantages:	A reasonably solid effort .  .  .
Disadvantages:	.  .  . but it lacks any real stand - out, Girl From Mars - esque face - melters .

Recommend to potential buyers:

no

Full review

Following the departure of Charlotte Hatherley, I had high hopes for this latest offering from Irish rockers Ash. Would the return to the original trinity mark a return to form? It was undoubtedly in the early days that they produced their finest material - particularly in '1977'. For me, though, this album flatters to deceive. Opener 'I Started a Fire' holds promise, but lacks the killer punch. From there, it's hard to find a stand-out track. 'Polaris' is a decent enough ballad, and 'Ritual' and 'Palace of Excess', once it gets going, make a fair stab at emulating past glories, but somehow it all leaves me a little cold. The more I listen to this album, the more I sense that Ash have grown up (they are nearing 30, after all!). Let's face it, '1977' was a long time ago.