Review: Blood on The Drums? Music to our Ears
Ashton Irwin first made his solo debut in 2020, with his deeply personal, metamorphic alt-rock album Superbloom. Crafted in the uncertainty and isolation of the pandemic, Irwin explored an array of sonic textures and vulnerable subject matter on the project. Ashton is best known as the drummer of Australian pop-rock band, 5 Seconds of Summer, and since Superbloom, he’s written and released 5SOS5, the band’s fifth studio album, and toured globally twice with the band.
Almost immediately after getting off the road from the band’s 2023 tour, Irwin was itching to get back in the studio with both Superbloom collaborator Matthew Pauling and longtime band collaborator John Feldmann to create the next chapter of his solo career.
In just a few months, Ashton composed dozens of ideas, ultimately landing on the sixteen that make up his stellar sophomore solo project, Blood on the Drums. Released in two parts, Irwin released the first eight tracks as The Thorns on 12 June, followed by the second half of the album, The Roses, on 17 July via AI Music Group and BMG. The record finds Irwin confident in his sound as a solo artist, pushing his pop-rock roots into a grittier, more reflective and magnetic dynamic.
THE THORNS
Expansive, acoustic-driven opener Straight To Your Heart sets the tone for Blood on the Drums with its captivating new wave-influenced production and light, poppy hook: “You’ll be my hero here in the dark/Saving my mind from ticking/Show me the way straight into your heart.” This track is on the lighter side compared to the rest of The Thorns but serves as a distinct transition from the sonic landscape of Superbloom. Breakup is bold and unyielding, a clever, pounding justification for infidelity: “You say you got a lover/But you say I’m not like him”. With Irwin’s deeper vocals repeatedly echoing “Breakup/Right now/You should be with me now” over a driving rhythm, this track begs for windows-down driving and steering wheel head-banging.
The project hits its stride with the triumphant title track, BLOOD ON THE DRUMS. Sonically building upon a sound defined by Irwin’s own SCAR and Greyhound, Ashton’s vocals shine brighter than ever before over a multidimensional drum pattern, exploring his greatest fears as someone who lives and breathes his art: “I’ve been holding on too long/Reaching out for what is gone/Will I stand or will I fall?/Will I make it out alive?/Will I ever learn to fly?.” Later in the track, the lyrical trepidation of “They say ‘slow down, give it up, give it up’/Don’t you dare listen, never giving it up” implies Ashton’s unyielding diligence in the face of doubt.
Whether by accident or design, thrumming powerhouse Indestructible concludes The Thorns with the most addictive, unrelenting track of them all. Amidst the sizzling bass lines and dominating vocals, Irwin rises out of the ashes as formidable, electrifying, and genuinely indestructible. The pains and triumphs of the last decade of his career pulse through the larger-than-life production, complete with a satisfying crash through the glass as Irwin sings, “People don’t ever believe it/Doesn’t mean that you don’t feel it/Looking up into ceiling/Trying but you’re barely dealing/You’re falling in love with the feeling.”
THE ROSES
The Canyon is the quintessential Ashton Irwin track, from its fantastically crisp instrumental production to its soul-baring lyricism, laced with hope for the future despite darkness in the past. And while Irwin’s unfathomable talent on the kit shines through as brightly as ever on The Canyon, the slinky acoustics that come to be a trademark of The Roses side of the album make the soft “Now I’m coming out of the dark” coda ending of this track a stunning transition into the second half of the project.
The dark beauty of stratospheric California Holds Her Breath and light romanticism of Wild Things see Irwin experimenting with sonic illustration to intentionally evoke complex emotions, even when that means playing into the absence of his characteristic rhythm-based production style. The true gift of California Holds Her Breath is the vivid imagery dappled across its lyrics, with the choruses building in desperation from “I can see the future in these hills/And the glitter in your tears” to “I can see your heart reflected off that disco ball/Writing down your next confession on the bathroom wall.”
Nostalgic Glory Days and meditative Endless Wave round out The Roses with genre-bending explorations into sounds recognisable as respectively influenced by rock greats like Bruce Springsteen and Sting, while maintaining something that remains distinctly recognisable as Ashton Irwin. Perhaps that Ashton trademark is the profound gratitude for where he’s been as one of a band (“The world was ours to take/Our hearts will never break/Sounding like a perfect story/Of the glory days”) or the simple recognition of his individual humanity (“I love to watch the morning go by/It’s moving by so fast I could cry/You can’t resist the change/You surf the endless wave”), all wrapped up in dynamic, rich instrumentation that can only be achieved by a well-rounded artist who knows the power of his own vulnerability.
Blood on the Drums is a cohesive musical accomplishment for Ashton Irwin, masterfully documenting his sacrifices made in the name of art and the evolution of his personal strength. To the casual listener, Blood on the Drums is a rock-solid, addictive cruiser of an album, but to longtime fans of Ashton, it’s gratifying proof of his undeniable self-actualisation as a solo artist.
Stand-out tracks: Breakup, BLOOD ON THE DRUMS, The Canyon, California Holds Her Breath
