Melt like goo into the beautiful lo-fi intricacies of HMS Ash.
Their debut album Songs For Sinking is an experimental laid-back collection of songs that aims to validate the way people feel after experiencing trauma.
HMS Ash’s debut album Songs For Sinking is a stunning lo-fi exploration through trauma and rebirth. With elements of experimental, it remains a groove-driven collection of touching songs and romantic lyricism.
Taking cues from minimalism, HMS Ash don’t rely on bells and whistles to get their message across. The three piece hail from Adelaide and are a bedroom indie-rock band. Recorded in their living room, Songs For Sinking is inspired by the laid-back grooves of Mac DeMarco with the lo-fidelity of Modest Mouse. There are some gorgeous shoegaze moments throughout the album such as on Mr. Woolworths, with elements of Slowdive bubbling to the surface in a stellar seven minute journey through a turbulent mind.
The versatile crooning voice of Rory Hellwig contrasts the dense lyricism of Thomas Fenner creating songs that are deeply rooted in romanticism, portrayed through the lens of the internet age.
For a three piece their sound is beautifully full and intricate, crafting layered yet subtle grooves that pervade the songs, resting on spacey chorusey, guitar chords, and the interlocking rhythms of drums and bass drawing likeness to that of Snakadaktal.
Thematically the album focuses on the after state of trauma as something to be celebrated. Both Rory and Thomas have been assaulted in the past, and have thus turned a harrowing experience into a transformative moment through the medium of music. Written as a mirror album the second half reflects the longing and searching of the first, but with a deeper understanding. The song Dreamlike Days acts as the surface of the mirror while every song in the first half references it’s sister song in the second. With such a rich understanding of conceptualising sound and the production quality of this bedroom album their next body of work should be something truly special. HMS Ash have designed plans to record their second album midway through 2019.
Whilst Grooving In The Goo provides one of the catchiest moments of the album, an undeniable jive number to bounce down the streets too, the albums final track Snow harmoniously mirrors this; providing a future vision for the band and their most experimental lo-fi tendencies.
HMS Ash debut album Songs For Sinking is a stunning collection of songs from a very promising group of young musicians.
