With a synth presence reminiscent of the opening of Michael Jackson’s ‘Beat It‘, the ‘With Tape And Needles‘ studio album opens up in impressive style as ‘The Highest Choir‘ immediately introduces us to Ashestoangels’ strong 80s influence. It’s only a short introductory track, it immediately gives you an idea of the directions that the band is approaching this album from, however, combining an 80s electronic vibe with a gothic punk presence. The album has been produced by Aiden’s William Francis, and you can definitely feel his influence on the album as the band progresses through the nine tracks present on this release.
‘Dolls Dolls Dolls‘ follows on from ‘The Highest Choir‘ with a huge amount of energy, with a simplistic electronic backdrop that nicely compliments the tracks overriding gothic rock sound. Although the synth sound is very basic, it provides a great ambience and adds character that would be greatly missed without its presence. ‘Lumi‘ meanwhile provides a whole different outlook as it follows, slowing things down and sounding extremely atmospheric and textured; there’s a lot going on within the track and with each listen you feel like you gain something new from the music. Rather than feeling cluttered, every sound present in the track just seems to fit perfectly, providing a very satisfying and extremely enjoyable overall listening experience.
With next track ‘Wintervention‘ there’s a fantastic AFI feel about the music once the band gets into its stride, and even the title of the track makes it seem as though it would have been perfect for inclusion on AFI’s 2006 ‘Decemberunderground‘ studio release. The vocals feel a little rough at the beginning, as the band progresses through the track the rawness of the music begins to feel a lot more comfortable though, with fantastic backing vocals present that provide incredible depth and ultimately make the track stand out as one of the best of the album. ‘Wintervention‘ recovers strongly from its shaky beginning, growing in strength and stature as it progresses, and ultimately evolving into something far greater than the intro would have you believe it was ever capable of becoming.
As ‘Good Things Come To Those Who Waste‘ opens there’s a piano presence in the intro that quickly disappears as the rest of the band joins in; it doesn’t really seem to fit, and the track would perhaps benefit from this intro being changed to encompass the full band rather than focusing purely upon the piano. The band often makes good use of the synth, utilisting it to add depth and texture to the music, on this occasion the piano definitely feels a little bit forced in the sound though and this therefore detracts from what is otherwise a pretty decent offering of music. The synth is used well later on within the track, sadly the piano intro just feels a little disorientating, however, and this is definitely something for the band to think about in the future.
With the swirling synth sounds of ‘Elsinore‘, this is another track from the album that sounds absolutely huge. The band has things absolutely spot on here, with the vocals sounding incredible and the track offering a great deal instrumentally also. The electronic elements of the music are absolutely exceptional in ‘Elsinore‘ and this is without doubt a track that could easily attract widespread appeal.
Following on from ‘Elsinore‘, ‘SOS‘ has a huge amount to live up to, once again featuring a pretty stripped back intro with Adam Crilly’s vocals sitting atop of a simplistic piano presence. After the extreme strength of ‘Elsinore‘, ‘SOS‘ just feels a little limp, failing to hit the incredible highs of the previous track and ultimately feeling quite disappointing in comparison. Towards the back end of the track the band shows more than a little fire in its belly and the track sounds more successful as a result, at times though it does feel as though there’s perhaps a little too much going on in the sound. Whereas in ‘Lumi‘ there’s a lot going on but everything feels like it has a place and belongs, the second half of ‘SOS‘ does actually feel slightly cluttered with everything that’s going on, and could perhaps benefit from a little less congestion.
With final track ‘Ghost Frequency‘ the band is able to get things back on track for one final time, with a good amount of energy coming across in the sound and a catchy chorus also present. There’s some decent synth work, and although ‘Elsinore‘ and ‘Wintervention‘ are the best tracks on the album for me, ‘Ghost Frequency‘ is definitely a decent offering of music, making sure that the album ends in style. The outro to ‘Ghost Frequency‘ closes ‘With Tape And Needles‘ out nicely, and all things considered the album definitely leaves you wanting for more.
Ashestoangels showcase a lot of great ideas throughout the ‘With Tape And Needles‘ album; the music isn’t always perfectly executed, but the creative vision is most definitely there and this therefore holds much promise for the future. The more stripped back moments of the music can sometimes feel a little too bare and at other times there are elements of the sound that feel slightly misplaced or a little too busy, when the band gets the formula right the music has a huge amount to offer though, with Ashestoangels at times showcasing some absolutely sublime vocal and instrumental talent.
Time will only tell as to what the future holds for Ashestoangels, if you’re a fan of the likes of AFI, Aiden and Fearless Vampire Killers, however, ‘With Tape And Needles‘ is definitely an album that’s well worth a listen.
UK based film graduate with a huge passion for music, sports and video games.
