Ash – True Love 1980 (Youtube)

I’m rather excited about Ash’s new music, and for a couple of reasons. Firstly, they’re eschewing the album format, in favour of a number of singles regularly released. Which is a pretty neat idea, and it’s going to be interesting to see how it pans out. Secondly, they’re going on an alphabetical tour of the UK, starting in the heady heights of Aldershot and ending in Zennor. Great little gimmick and a fun way to get out there.

I’ve liked Ash since 1977, which I think it a great pop album and it will forever be. Twilight of the Innocents wasn’t their best material, but they’ve come back with a really fun synth-pop track that owes as much to New Order as any of their previous work.

Whether they can sustain this format over 26 individual singles is another matter, but at the moment it’s exciting stuff from one of the best things to ever come out of Northern Ireland.