Search - Charlotte Hatherley :: Summer

Complicated, weirdly melodic alterna-pop.

D. Mok | Los Angeles, CA | 09/18/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The title "Summer" and the promotional material are pretty misleading. Ash guitarist/singer Charlotte Hatherley's music is no straight-forward pop-rock fare; think an eccentric marriage between Throwing Muses and The Go-Go's, with emphasis on the former's twisty melodies and freewheeling song structures.



Hatherley's voice is pleasing, wildly girlish at times but with moments of snarling attitude that sets her apart. And as with almost all lead guitarists who write songs, Hatherley tends to write harmonically complex songs that avoid the usual chord changes and structures. She is especially fond of stop-start rhythms and irregular meters. "Summer" has a breezy lead vocal that recalls Juliana Hatfield or The Murmurs, but the song structure is just nuts, without a discernible chorus, yet overall melodic and appealing even though the song is so twisty that it's not a "sing along" kind of song. Hatherley's full-length album Grey Will Fade is only available as an import at this point, but "Summer"'s bizarre mix of pop, punk and almost art-rock influences is consistent with the rest of the record. Ash fans beware, however -- Hatherley's songwriting is weirder, less instantly catchy than Ash singer Tim Wheeler's, as Kristin Hersh's was to Tanya Donelly's. I enjoy both Hatherley's solo material and Ash's music equally, but while I have no problem putting Ash in the "pop/rock" section, Hatherley would lean more towards the "alternative" spectrum.



Of the tracks from Grey Will Fade, I personally think the moody, rich Euro-rock of "Rescue Plan" or the carefree surf-pop of "Paragon" might have made a better single, but "Summer" will give you a good enough intro to Hatherley's music. Grey Will Fade is a very good record as a whole, well worth picking up, and if you can't locate it, "Summer" will be a comely introduction.

"