Ash

Northern Irish group Ash got their start in the mid-1990s playing a poppy and energetic brand of punk, then added metal, grunge, and pop punk influences on the way to becoming a reliably hooky hard rock band equally adept at big ballads and three chord rockers. After making a splash with their debut album 1977, the trio soon expanded their lineup by adding guitarist/vocalist Charlotte Hatherley for 1998's Nu-Clear Sounds and got heavier, setting up a loud/hard quiet/catchy dichotomy that lasted from then on. Once Hatherley left, the trio settled into a solid groove, issuing a ...