With a measurable amount of charisma, the band plays the tried and true verse/chorus/verse sequence while frontman Tim Wheeler molds his every-man voice to songs about both easy love and world domination.
"Walking Barefoot" opens the album with a gentle melody and carefree bombast last found on Hole's Celebrity Skin, while the swirling strings of "Someday" unfold into a ballad of grandiose intent.
With a searing bass guitar riff and a whining vocal loop, "Submission" drives straight into hair-metal territory and ends up sounding more like a duet between Britney Spears and Nine Inch Nails.
But "Shining Light" is the real winner here. Constellations, Jerusalem, divine intervention and epiphany collide with sighing vocal lines, fuzzy guitars and the most euphoric chorus of the year. It's a magical moment on an album full of mostly formulaic material.
At times, Ash's loud-soft formula backfires. "Candy" sinks under the weight of its faux pas R&B beats, and "Burn Baby Burn" is just too sing-songy to bear.
And there's no overlooking the awful "Cherry Bomb." No matter what its intention might be, it's difficult to sit through lyrics like, "Is she real or just a dream/My heart beats fast like benzadrine."
The problem with Free All Angels is that it becomes exactly what it aspires to be -- this album could be the product of any band. For 45 minutes, Ash is that forgotten band with the one great song that, if you weren't trying to think of the name of it right now, you'd remember.
But that's okay. Sometimes all you need is that good no-name song just to get you through the drive home from work.
It turns out that Free All Angels is just enough to get you there.
By Michael Abernethy
Young Dubliners
Absolutely
4 Stars
The common conception of "Irish music" is marked by wildly played fiddles and boundless old-country jigs, among other quirks.
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The Young Dubliners are here to update such a notion. On its new album, Absolutely, the band proves that traditional aspects of such music can mix perfectly well with the stronger points of contemporary rock 'n' roll.
While the undisputed champion of Irish rock would be U2, Bono and company didn't waste much time before marrying the arena rock standard, and their sound doesn't exactly bleed nationality. In contrast, the Young Dubliners have chosen to embrace the sound of Eire by including strategically placed violins and a bouncy quality that harkens back to the country's native sounds. The purest example of this, the brief but attention-grabbing "Unreel," is full-blooded old-school jig music of the atypical type for Irish rock.
To their credit, the Young Dubliners never become stylistically stagnant. They jump from country-rock to bar-band grind to poppier fare without ever falling. The tunes are varied enough so that listeners' favorites are sure to differ.
The voice of frontman Keith Roberts -- who co-founded the group in Los Angeles after moving to the United States from Dublin -- is a powerful tool, one that the band smartly takes advantage of throughout its album. His wide vocal range and ability to rise occasionally into falsetto bolsters each and every tune on Absolutely.
But the luck of the Irish is not immortal -- the album is not challenging enough to really get lost in, and it will only command the attention of the crowd that likes its music easy and clear-cut.
But while they don't reach stratospheric heights in terms of creativity, the Young Dubliners still manage to give us solid American rock music with a refreshing Irish twist.
By Elliott Dube
Eve
Eve-olution
4 Stars
The self-proclaimed "pit-bull in a skirt" is back with a lot of bite.
Eve's latest album, Eve-olution, is a fresh release full of hard-biting rhymes and bouncing beats.
But Eve doesn't just bite as shown in the first single off the album. "Gangsta Lovin'" features Alicia Keys and is already getting frequent radio play.
The song combines the best of female rap and R&B -- Keys' lilting voice melts with Eve's strong raps. Eve gives the female player a romantic edge, getting the guy she wants but remaining somewhat feminine.
Eve must have learned something from the success of her duet with Gwen Stefani. In addition to her duet with Keys, Eve also collaborates with Jadakiss, The Lox, Nate Dogg and Snoop Dogg.
But, the album takes a serious tone with the song "As I Grow," which Eve begins by stating, "Turn your negative into a positive, this one ... is for the kids."
Aided by Eve's sincerity and positive message of tolerance and personal strength, the piano chords in this cut make for a beautiful combination.
After the depth of "As I Grow," the title track is heavy with bass and seems ill-fitting. The background lyrics sound like something out of "Star Wars," with deep baritones repeating, "Eve ba bum bum bum." The oddly futuristic and lacking song doesn't mesh with the rest of the album and doesn't reflect the album in a positive light, making Eve-olution an odd pick for the album title.
The album serves as a cross-section of Eve's public persona -- strong, confident and sexy. Her talent for lyrics and song delivery are evident throughout the album but are fully exhibited on first track "What," which fully shows off her rough feminine attitude.
With her hard-edged talent, Eve is the first lady of the Ruff Ryders, and she won't let you forget that she is one.
By Kristen Williams
