[review 2007: favourites]

Charlotte Hatherley’s Grey Will Fade and Ash’s Meltdown, both released within months of each other in 2004, marked turning points of sorts for the members of Ash. Meltdown was the first album after Ash’s breakthrough Free All Angels, which made it to the top of the UK charts and gave the band a number of big singles. Having finally figured out how to meld the bigger sound from Nu-Clear Sounds with the pop sensibility they’d developed on their debut, Ash were ready to retry the American market again (Nu-Clear Sounds was the first attempt) and delve back into harder-edged rock material. For Hatherley, who’d been with the band for the better part of a decade at that point, her own album—recorded while Ash was in California for the Meltdown sessions—Grey Will Fade represented the first steps towards independence. Named after a song she originally penned for Ash and released as the b-side to “There’s a Star,” Grey Will Fade owed much to Ash both in sound and in conception: Wheeler was the one who first suggested to Hatherley that she record an album.

Three years on, and from those origins much has changed. Ash is a three-piece band again, and though everyone involved still seems to be on okay terms, there’s also signs that Hatherley’s departure wasn’t completely her idea. Ash decided after this year’s Twilight of the Innocents that albums are so yesterday, so they won’t be recording anything but singles from now on. Combine that with Ash’s new makeup as a trio and the geographical relocation to New York for two-thirds of the band, and you’ve got a band that’s seriously rethinking its place in the world. And as for Hatherley? She’s been doing some thinking as well, obviously. Grey Will Fade had a lot in common with Ash’s material, especially Free All Angels—not a bad place to start. But even though “Summer” and “Bastardo” were the big singles, it was tracks like “Kim Wilde” that really showed promise. Most guitarists pursuing solo albums don’t write crazy rollercoaster songs like “Kim Wilde,” or at least not good ones. Hatherley had something up her sleeve, and it wasn’t necessarily all power-pop stuff, either.

The Deep Blue takes the blueprint of Grey Will Fade and largely throws it away. By her own admission, there are a couple of bridges back to that album, namely “I Want You to Know.” But just like “Summer” before, the throwbacks are the least compelling tracks on The Deep Blue. Furthermore, “I Want You to Know”’s ragged punk-pop sound sticks out like a sore thumb, coming as it does after the sun-kissed duo of “Cousteau” and “Be Thankful.” Those two tracks set the tone for the rest of the album: a gauzier, multilayered sound that avoids the relatively easy pleasures of Grey Will Fade for more complex song structures. The payoffs versus Hatherley’s first album are muted and less immediate; the appeal of a song like “Love’s Young Dream” is less evident alongside the more Ash-like songs. But Hatherley’s thinking longer-term here; a lot of The Deep Blue sounds like foundation work, a way to figure out how best to express her sonic ambitions in the future.

What this all means is the album’s strength lies more in its ability to impress upon you a certain mood and atmosphere. There are plenty of songs that, in lieu of the spiky pop nuggets of old, provide more serene pleasures. “Be Thankful” and “It Isn’t Over” are utterly gorgeous pop songs, and “Wounded Sky” and “Behave” retain some bite while maintaining the overall dreamy vibe of the album. The major exception, the epic and melancholy “Love’s Young Dream,” throws a dissonant wrench into the mix to great effect. And lest you think the album is quiet, there’s still the likes of “Very Young” and “Siberia.” Remember that Hatherley was recruited by Ash when she was 18 on the basis of her guitar chops; she knows where her roots are.

The Deep Blue is a sprawling statement that should put to rest any concerns about Charlotte Hatherley’s long-term prospects as a solo artist. Hatherley clearly has ambitions and talent, and if nothing on the album really points to a future career direction, that’s mainly because the directions she takes on this album are so varied and yet are all equally viable. In the meantime, between the bliss of “It Isn’t Over” and the delightful crunch of “Roll Over (Let it Go)” and “Very Young,” there’s lots to love about this album. Maybe Ash have written off albums, but I hope Hatherley hasn’t, because her next album should knock ‘em all dead.