We all know the story. Ash have been churning out a disproportionate number of great singles since 1996, and on their last album Meltdown, decided to ditch their pop punk image and go for an all out rock approach. The first single from it, Clones, featured a riff so destructive it could have been mistaken for Queens Of The Stone Age, while second taster Orpheus was what we would call a full blown summer anthem with its frantic guitars and skyscraping chorus.
The release of Starcrossed is a bit of an anomaly - it doesn't fit with this new image as the new hard men (and women) in rock. It's not a million miles away from the pedestrianised pop of Candy, a song which even the most ardent Ash follower will find hard not to decry.
Starcrossed drifts along nicely and its catchy chorus will ensure heavy rotation on the radio and MTV, but you get the feeling that Wheeler and co. have taken two steps back after a big leap forward. Pleasant, but not the card they needed to play at this stage in the game.
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