Ash - 'Orpheus' (Infectious)
3/5
By: Lauren Gallagher
'That summer I did nothiiiiiiin'' hollers Tim Wheeler amid an opening howl to 'Orpheus'. And it's, in all, a strange juxtaposition to the Chili Peppers-esque intro to the track, since its dark and difficult bass fools one into thinking that the Irish/London quartet's latest racket is going to reveal the darker side of Ash - the crushing alternative to such prior pop-candy as the Ivor Novello-winning 'Shining Light'.
But then the pretty, harmonious, and ridiculously catchy chorus comes in, and 'Orpheus' rears itself a musical schizo, mixing pretty pop for thundering riffs, pounding punk drumming, and even a touch of bruising hair-metal at the end. This garbled rock done by anyone else would be an absolute mess, but somehow Ash pull it off - probably due to their trademark-shamelessness for an outright melody. By no means their finest work, 'Orpheus' at least stands a worthy introduction to a second decade of Ash.
Artists in this article: Ash
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