New alt-rock album.

The debut album of Ashes And Diamonds, Are Forever, feels like a classic example of alt-rock. This is a great album to be playing a little too loud and wrapping you up in it when you should be getting something else done.

When first hitting play on this album, you might be tempted to stick your head out the window to see where the sirens are coming from, as they whistle closer and closer. The sound of emergency vehicles roaring by start to blend with a droning, pulsing note. Daniel Ash opens up with a nearly monotone phrase, “Hollywood has landed,” and from that point on until the last notes of “2020” ring out, this album holds you tightly in its grasp. That opening track, “Hollywood,” makes generous use of echoing and layered vocals, something which becomes quite a trademark of the album. This song uses a lot of heavy drums, played by Bruce Smith, and drawn out electric guitars. `

“The A-Listers” starts off with the title being hissed through the microphone while a funky synth phrase plays. The lyrics are sung with a sigh, practically infused with a careless tone. The instrumentals stay pretty stripped back, primarily just a muffled high-hat interspersed with that repeating melody from the synth. The song starts to incorporate more electronic vocals and sounds as it goes on. As the third verse starts, the vocals come through heavily distorted until the chorus, where they sound more drawn out and pleading than earlier.

In the ninth track, “Setting Yourself Up For Love,” the vocals start just before the beat does, causing the listener to feel off-kilter through the introduction until the chorus begins and the beat and the vocals line up again. The chorus uses a twist on a common phrase: “Sticks and stones again / Breaking our bones again / See these arms again / Stretched out high.” This cleverly brings up how the ‘you’ in this song is prone to “setting [themselves] up for love”.

The last song of the album, “2020,” is much slower than its predecessors and feels quite reminiscent of its time. Drums stand out more in this one, sharply pushing along the layered chords underneath them. The chorus bemoans, “No, we not got this /And yes, we’re growing up fast,” relating to how many people felt out of control and struggled to reckon with the passage of time during that year.

This album fits neatly into the alt-rock genre. Although there are hints of suggestions to sally forth against the system, the lyrics do little more than allude to punk societal critiques. The lyrics tend to stay relatively reserved, and repeat frequently. Fortunately, the creative blend of percussion and guitars builds a satisfying sound to support what could have otherwise been lack-luster lyrics.