Ashes And Diamonds
Are Forever
Cleopatra Records
I’m sure the trio of musicians comprising Ashes And Diamonds would baulk at the term “supergroup”, but as they contain members of Bauhaus, PiL and Sade, no other word will suffice. It’s a pedigree that seeps through every note of their debut album, Are Forever, but there’s no resting on prior glories here, and the opening track, ‘Hollywood’, evidences a band very much in the present. Yet, we’re all a product of our past and the aesthetic hanging over this record is indicative of Ashes and Diamonds’ dark lineage. It means that even when they’re in boisterous mode (‘On A Rocka’), there’s a certain amount of shade, as if the band are peeling back the thin veneer that separates this world from the next and offering a glimpse of what lies beyond. Operating as a three-piece gives Ashes And Diamonds a tight focus, but they certainly sound bigger than their constituent parts and cuts such as ‘The A Listers’ are multifaceted affairs. As such, this album will reward successive spins as subtle nuances buried deep in the mix bubble to the surface, but when the songs are as good as ‘Alien Love’ (perhaps the best song Bowie never wrote), repeat plays are no hardship.
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Review by Peter Dennis