AshIn 1992, with V-guitars turned up to 11, teenage Northern Irish trio Ash were a smidge too late to join the Britpop party.
They wanted to be more Iron Maiden than Blur anyways. Eight years after publicly abandoning the album format, they're refocused and delivering what they always did best: an album full of rambunctious songs that could be singles. Cocoon, Let's Ride and Moondust thunder through an excellent front half run that feels as excitingly tenacious as 2001's Free All Angels, while 'cigarette lighter aloft' moments Free and For Eternity keep them from flying totally off the handle.
