Generally, if you're applying for a job or trying to advance your
career, being able to accomplish diverse tasks is only going to help.
This is not necessarily the case with rock bands. Sometimes the more
adaptable a band can be, the more limited their options are going to
be. With their 8th studio disc, Unlikely But Certain,
Pittburgh's ASHES TO ASHES showcase their diverse songwriting skills
and musicianship. The same band that created the ode to a sandwich,
"Eat Me, I'm a Hoagie", has presented fifteen new tracks with varying
influences.
Unlikely But Certain kicks off with "She Knows", "Take What You
Want", and the robotic-voiced "Carolanne", three songs with firm roots
in melodic, riff-heavy crunch-rock (a genre that generally sells well
overseas, but not so well in the U.S.). With the exception of the
vocals in some cases (Personally, I think more harmonies and layered
vocals would be fitting, but that's personal preference), each song
stands perfectly as a solid rock anthem.
With "Semi-Padded Room", guitarist/singer Andrew Bell invokes a George
Lynch-esque riff, and contracts it with a vocal melody that you might
find over an acoustic song, but seems to fit here. "Meaning" reminds me
of the kind of songs SAIGON KICK were doing on their first few discs,
and "Make It Right" has an 80's new-wave influence to the vocals with a
crunchy arena rock guitar riff underneath.
Three bands come to mind when listening to Ashes to Ashes; The
aforementioned SAIGON KICK, QUEENSRYCHE, and EXTREME. All three of
those bands featured superb musicianship and diverse songwriting
skills, and all three managed to fade into obscurity or out of
existence entriely because the music industry couldn't pigeonhole them.
If Ashes To Ashes has one fatal flaw, it's that you can't nail them
down into one specific genre. That's not a slight on them, either. It's
a slight on the music business, and the U.S. music-buying public.
Apparently, we aren't able to handle cheerful, hummable songs like
"Someday" or "Sunlight" in the middle of a riff-heavy record like Unlikely But Certain.
It's a shame, really...because if more bands were encouraged to
practice and perfect their craft, we might have more of a thriving
music business in this country. I think Ashes To Ashes will do well
overseas, where the tolerance for diversity in music is a little
greater.
Apparently, the more adaptable you are, the less likely you are to be
successful in the music business. These guys go from "No Love" to the
drastically different "Release" in the space of one track, and while I
think their ability to shift gears musically is impressive, some music
industry suits will most likely disagree with me.
Honestly, I could see Ashes To Ashes hitting the road with QUEENSRYCHE,
GOO GOO DOLLS, 3 DOORS DOWN, or maybe MATCHBOX 20 (depending on ATA's
choice of set list), because I think they would fit with audiences for
all of the above. Perhaps they could go the route of so many other
bands, and that is to build an international following before coming
back stateside to dominate. ATA bills themselves as "America's Next
Great Rock Band". I think they COULD be, but the music buying public is
going to have to open up a little bit in order for them to be accepted
by the masses.
