The new SCATTERED ASHES EP All That Is Solid Melts Into Air expands their sound and ponders the political in everyday society and relationships.
EP: All That Is Solid Melts into Air
Band: SCATTERED ASHES
Released: June 14 2024
Following on from 2021's Parallel Lines EP, SCATTERED ASHES have released new EP All That Is Solid Melts Into Air reviewed here by Jonah Hoy.
Recorded at Darklands Audio in Dublin, produced by Daniel Doherty (Fontaines D.C, Meryl Streek) and mastered by Pete Maher (Echo & The Bunnymen, Liam Gallagher), the EP’s title is taken from a Karl Marx quote: “All that is solid melts into air, all that is holy is profaned, and man is at last compelled to face with sober senses his real conditions of life, and his relations with his kind.”
All That is Solid Melts Into Air encompasses these themes and the constant state of flux we find ourselves in as members of modern society due to technology, consumerism, and the fickle nature of human beings.
At times angry, defiant, reflective, sad and optimistic, it finds them taking on the world. Incorporating guitars, samples, synths and sequencers, their expanded audio arsenal has melodies to match and attitude in abundance. It is essential listening.
Across the EP the band reflect on the more destructive outcomes of these aspects such as racism, drug addiction, apathy, and greed—a prime example being They Can’t Divide Us, a track that was recorded during the chaos of the 2023 Dublin Riots, with the studio being located in the midst of the storm.
Incorporating guitars, samples, synths and sequencers, their expanded audio arsenal has melodies to match and attitude in abundance. It is essential listening.
The EP also considers the more positive aspects of the shared human experience such as intimacy, growth and self-redemption. “There was a lot of serendipity on this record and at times it felt like we were expelling a lot of demons,” says Dalton. “This record was special, the words and the music just flew out, it felt different.” He expands on this in our podcast which features musci from each track and Rob talking about the circumstances and inspirations around the EP's writing and recording.
“Marx was referring to non-economic relationships and aspects of human life in the future, i.e. art, love, food, family, religious conviction or the pursuit of knowledge—in short, everything that gives us true meaning and fulfilment, and how it will be co-opted by endless expansion and exploitation. This is a future the band believes we are living in,” explains Dalton, a truism that few would dare to argue against.
Scattered Ashes are an abrasive and angular Dublin postpunk four-piece capturing the imagination of renowned tastemakers across the globe.
After being heavily championed by Steve Lamacq, they opened up 2024 with a mammoth UK tour supporting Meryl Streek along with being named as one of LOUDER magazine's '10 Irish Artists You Should Be Listening To In 2024.'
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The new EP All That Is Solid Melts Into Air available now on 12" black vinyl.
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