Nu Clear Sounds: История альбома Ash

Nu Clear Sounds is the second studio album by Northern Irish rock band Ash. It was released on 5 October 1998, through Infectious Records and Home Grown. Following the release of the band's debut studio album, 1977 (1996), guitarist Charlotte Hatherley became a member. They wrote new material at a farmhouse, before going to Wales to record their next album at Rockfield Studios. With additional sessions held at the Astoria in London, Ash produced the proceedings alongside Chris Kimsey and Owen Morris. A garage rock record, the New York Dolls, the Rolling Stones and the Velvet Underground inspired the album. Preceded by Nu Clear Sounds lead single "Jesus Says" in September 1998, the band toured the United Kingdom and other parts of Europe until the end of the year. "Wildsurf" was released as the second single partway through the European segment in November. In early 1999, Ash played shows in New Zealand, Australia and Japan. Following this, they performed a handful of shows in the United States and the UK, before appearing at the Glastonbury Festival. The album was released in the US in September 1999; it featured an alternate track listing and three remixes by Butch Vig of songs. A supporting US tour was planned throughout October, however, it was cut short. Music critics gave Nu Clear Sounds mixed reviews; some complimented the musicianship, while others found it inconsistent. The album peaked at number seven in the UK, alongside reaching the top 50 in Australia, Norway and Scotland. It was certified gold in the UK by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). "Jesus Says", "Wildsurf" and "Numbskull" reached the Irish top 10, while the first two charted in the UK top 20.

Ash released their debut studio album 1977 in May 1996. With its release, frontman Tim Wheeler left school to tour the album for a year and a half. Suffering from writer's block, he was unable to write new material while touring. As Ash were supporting Weezer on their US tour, Wheeler became interested in the interplay between Rivers Cuomo and Brian Bell; he dreamt of having another member who could play certain parts while he simply sang. in August 1997. She had previously met Wheeler when Ash and Nightnurse shared a rehearsal room in London, and liked their singles. Hatherley made her recording debut as part of Ash with the release of "A Life Less Ordinary", taken from the film of the same name, in October 1997. It was the first song they had written since the making of 1977 over a year before. Impressed by her contribution to the band, she became an official member. Wheeler said they were "psychologically damaged" from the 1977 cycle, resulting in the members being on separate wavelengths. He was becoming aware that contemporary acts of theirs were making darker sounding music, listing off Radiohead and Unkle. They spent a few months at Stambridge Farm, which had been turned into a residential writing studio, coming up with several new tracks and working on developing their sound. Wheeler had his own cottage detached from the main house where the rest of the band stayed to deal with his writer's block.

Ash recorded Nu Clear Sounds at Rockfield Studios in Wales during early and mid 1998. The band, Chris Kimsey and Owen Morris produced the sessions, with David Nicholas handling recording. Nick Brine, Sorrel Merchant and Damon Iddins did additional engineering. They recorded nearly all the album, except one track, live in the studio. Ash had previously built tracks by laying each instrument separately; Wheeler said the live aspect "as a band sort of worked a lot better". In between sessions, the band played three UK shows and several European festivals. Mixing was done at the Astoria in London. Kimsey was trying to drive a wedge between the band during the mixing; they were unhappy with how some of the tracks sounded and sought to involve Morris. Morris and Ash mixed the recordings; Morris completely remixed "Death Trip 21" over the course of a weekend while the band played shows. He also altered Kimsey's arrangements of "Low Ebb" and "I'm Gonna Fall", alongside adding "more darkness and intimacy" to "Aphrodite". Additional recording was done at the Astoria. Mike Marsh mastered the recordings. Drummer Rick McMurray said the New York Dolls, the Velvet Underground and the Rolling Stones circa Sticky Fingers (1971) inspired the album. Wheeler wrote the lyrics for all the tracks, except for "Wildsurf", which he co wrote with Hatherley. He wrote the music for most of the tracks, with the exception of "Projects" (co written by bassist Mark Hamilton and Hatherley), "Jesus Says" (written solely by Hamilton), "Death Trip 21" (co written by Wheeler and Hamilton), "Numbskull" (written solely by Hamilton) and "I'm Gonna Fall" (co written by Wheeler and Hamilton). Nu Clear Sounds is dominated by either harder sounding songs—namely "Projects", "Jesus Says", "Numberskull" and "Fortune Teller"—or ballads, such as "Low Ebb", "Folk Song", "Burn Out", "Aphrodite" and "I'm Gonna Fall". The ballads marked a shift from the punk rock like tracks Ash were known for, showcasing the burn out they were going through, while the harder tracks were "a mixture of frustration". In a 2004 interview, Wheeler remaked, "That was a hazy time when we didn't really know what we were doing. Nu Clear Sounds captures that well: one half consists of schizophrenic, crazy noise rock and the other half with only gloomy ballads". Hossam Ramzy and Dave Larkin contributed percussion; Wil Malone arranged the strings. The bass part and Hatherley's guitar parts conflict with each other rhythmically; the track was initially called "Pickefoo", alluding to the bands Pixies and the Foo Fighters. The Oasis esque ballad "Low Ebb" talks about despair and hope, relating to the pressure Wheeler was feeling with his writer's block. "Jesus Says" discusses the pressure of a job promotion and using alcohol to deal with it. The song evokes the sound of both the Jesus and Mary Chain and the New York Dolls, while it heavily features percussion instrumentation, courtesy of Ramsey. The Beach Boys styled "Wildsurf" was one of the first tracks written for Nu Clear Sounds. The song was described by Hamilton as most reminiscent of the material on 1977 and features a guitar solo by Hatherley, which was edited down for the final version. "Death Trip 21" sounds like a mix between the Chemical Brothers and Metallica, and tells the story of a dead drug dealer. The down tempo "Folk Song" includes elements reminiscent of New Order and talks about lost innocence. The Pixies indebted "Numbskull" opens with Wheeler screaming in a similar vein to Henry Rollins, and features turntable scratching. "Burn Out" employs a 1960s like vocal melody in the style of Phil Spector. The closing track, "I'm Gonna Fall", features strings that Morris sent through a Fender amplifier with added distortion, making them become inaudible.

On 14 July 1998, Nu Clear Sounds was announced for release in three months' time. The following month, Ash played a few festivals in mainland Europe and appeared at the Reading Festival. In October and early November 1998, the band embarked on a tour of the United Kingdom. In the United States, Ash had been on Reprise Records, who released 1977 in that territory; for Nu Clear Sounds, the band ran into issues with Reprise's owner Warner Bros. Records, delaying the album's US release. From mid November to late December 1998, Ash embarked on a European tour. Idlewild and the Chicks appeared on the first handful of shows, while Carrie appeared on the rest of the dates. The music video for "Wildsurf" shows the band performing in front of an assortment of TV screens, cut with footage of a woman exploring buildings and hallways. The band closed the year with two shows in their home country of Ireland. Ash played a benefit show for the Campaign for a Living Wage charity in mid April 1999, preceded by three warm up shows. The music video for "Numbskull" premiered for The Jo Whiley Show on 5 May 1999. Author Dave Thompson wrote in his book Alternative Rock (2000) that these depictions got the video banned by TV broadcasters across Europe. Vig got involved after he had approached the band; he was found of the album and played it every night before Garbage went on stage. They planned to promote it with a US tour in October, however, the A&R person at DreamWorks left, resulting in the tour being shortened to three shows. Ash's first compilation album Intergalactic Sonic 7″s (2003) included "Jesus Says", "Wildsurf" and "Numbskull". Their second compilation album The Best of Ash (2011) included "Wildsurf". "Jesus Says", "Wildsurf", and "Numbskull" were released on 7" vinyl as part of 94–'04 The 7" Singles Box Set (2019). The band's third compilation album Teenage Wildlife: 25 Years of Ash (2020) included "Projects", "Jesus Says" and "Wildsurf". BMG released Nu Clear Sounds on CD in 2019.

Nu Clear Sounds was met with generally positive reviews from music critics. AllMusic reviewer Jason Ankeny said that while the album "lacks the immediate appeal" of 1977, "over the course of repeated listens it emerges as the group's most bracing effort to date". He further wrote that Hatherley "galvanizes   Wheeler's songs, giving them a dimension and scope they previously lacked". Pitchfork contributor Brent DiCrescenzo found Nu Clear Sounds delivered "simple pleasures, with occasional punch and constant nostalgic sincerity". The Irish Times writer Kevin Courtney said Ash "are not really an albums band", adding they "handle the heavyweight artillery with consummate ease, but it's the gentle, almost dippy ballads  which gives Nu Clear Sounds its heart of gold". Buffo Schnadelbach of Rock Hard wrote that the band are "far from out of their infancy, they also seem to have matured a little", offering "a whole series of hard core tracks", alongside "sugar sweet, mostly flat ballads" that the "fearful metal crowd" might find to "cause nausea, diarrhea or incontinence". Nu Clear Sounds entered the charts at number seven in the UK and number eight in Scotland. In a 2022 interview, when asked about the album's lack of success, Hatherley theorised that it was "down to the singles", explaining that it lacked the "big singalong" songs such as "Girl from Mars" or "Goldfinger".