Number 4 of 2004 — Charlotte Hatherley: Grey Will Fade

Sometimes album reviews are painful. They take a long time to write. This one didn’t. Guitarist Charlotte Hatherley joined Ash between their first and second albums. Her presence gave Ash more guitar gumption and added an ability to introduce vocal harmonies to their music. During the recording of their latest album Meltdown, Charlotte recorded this album, her debut. In some respects, the reasons for this release mirror the reasons that Tanya Donelly left Throwing Muses. When you have an ability to write songs, yet no outlet to perform, something has to happen. Fortunately for Ash she’s been able to stay in her day job, departing from the Big American Rock scene that Ash are working and instead ploughing a typically British indie groove that is all very 1995.

But that’s okay. Because Grey Will Fade is 1995 done right and dosed up on Beach Boy back-issues. The opener, Kim Wilde has a shimmering summery feel, with hidden keyboards, multi-tracked harmonies, “ba-ba-baa-oos”, plenty of tiny electric guitar overdubs, and more words than most short stories. Rescue Plan appears to take things more Ash-ward, but then slews into a shoegazing chorus, like something from early My Bloody Valentine. It’s then that a pattern, or perhaps a philosophy appears. Charlotte wants to try all sorts of things on this album. Each song has a multitude of ideas, with false codas, different drum arrangements, tempo shifts, guitar lines that drop in, weave around then go someplace else. Pixies were all about pop, though few at the time understood this. Charlotte knows pop, she knows how to play and she knows fun. So Paragon goes shooting off in all directions at a zillion miles an hour, coming back to it’s main guitar riff and chorus each time. Then there’s that military Throwing Muses drum break, which falls into a gorgeous series of harmonies that serve to close out the song.

Summer has oatmeal lyrics. Sorry, just thought that one up. But I know what I mean: “Open the windows / Serotonin and the vitamins C D and E / Oh let it all sink in to your skin close your eyes / And you can feel the release”. Oh, there goes a bluesy piano. I expected the handclaps, but where did that come from? You find out soon enough with the breaks. Summer has a later counterpart, perhaps a twin sister, or old brother in Why you Wanna? and Bastardo is pure Sleeper. A story about being duped by a Spanish boy who steals Charlotte’s guitar.

In case you’re too woozy on this happiness we have the downbeat half-jazz-lounge of, um, Down, with it’s curiously funny / unfunny “down down down down..” vocals, which beats “dum dum dum”, I suppose. Remarkably though she then goes in for an anthemic pseudo-orchestral break. Charlotte’s still laughing though, because immediately following this is the almost unlistenable drunken guitar noise punk of Stop. A tune exists somewhere, spiralling along amongst the chaos. Along with a message.

After the electric noise, we get the sensual electro- and acoustic-centric heartache of Where I’m Calling From complete with an oozing electric organ backing and fabulous strings. The closing Grey Will Fade mashes up the highs and lows of the album. It opens with “I’m trying to find the words to say / To make you feel much better, Fay / And turn your head around and break it down”, each verse and chorus slowly building to a masterpiece of a climax with stunning harmonies, tumbling percussion and the only fade out on the album.

This isn’t my top album of 2004, but it came close. It gets better each listen. It’s sheer inventiveness won me over. But couple this with exceptional song writing skills, both musically and lyrically, and I wonder who needs Ash? I never have done, and Charlotte certainly doesn’t.