I caught up with local band ASHFIELDS who are soon to release their EP ‘New Skin’ and this is a preview of it and my thoughts on their tracks.
The EP takes you on quite a personal journey. The lyrics tell a story, this is often hard to gage from songs, especially in today’s mainstream music industry where a lot of lyrics lack personal or relatable messages. Pretty much anything can be made into a song these days, and just because it is at the top of the charts, doesn’t necessarily mean it is the best music out there. Discovering local bands like ASHFIELDS encourages me that there is good music out there, it just sometimes means you may have to look past the big charts to find it and hopefully will encourage people to branch out when it comes to music. You never know how great local bands could be!
What I like about the track ‘Save Me’ is that it has a strong underlying strong beat. It appears to portray a message of self-destruction through lyrics such as ‘nobody can save me from myself’ and the talk of ‘voices in my head’. There appears to be a cry for help, but at the same time it is a song that can be relatable as everyone struggles and people can understand the struggles they may be going through themselves.
‘Eclipse’. I love this song, definitely my favourite on the EP. It has such a groovy and funky beat. It is really uplifting and a rather happy track. I can imagine how awesome this would be live, as I can visualise a crowd really getting involved with this song as it is one that really lifts your spirits.
‘Is it alright now?’ Carl told me how it is about his struggles with anxiety but he wrote it in a way that is upbeat, so people hear the lyrics and think “this song is about suffering but it’s upbeat and exciting”, he wanted it to point to the struggles of life but at the same time lift people’s spirits.The song has a strong intro, and there is a message about things getter better.
‘It’s Me Not You’. This song is very personal. Carl speaks about the track “’It’s me not you’ is an acoustic track, I wrote that about three or four years ago. I had been with my ex for four years and really, we had fallen out of love. I only just decided to use it on an EP, also, I play piano on that track which 99% of people don’t realise I begun music life playing piano so yeah, proud of that track.”
‘Munich’- This song is clearly about saying goodbye and leaving. Giving the track a more specific context… On the 22nd July 2016, there was a terrible attack in Munich, the band wanted to dedicate the track to the families and victims and anybody affected by the track.
‘Please’ Like every other song on the EP the vocals on this track are superbly strong and it is a good track. It has a rocky vibe which I like a lot.
ASHFIELDS are launching their EP at The Bodega on the 8th of April! It looks like it is going to be a wicked night so get down if you can.
Edited by: Jessica Greaney
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