Album Review: Ashton Irwin releases new album ‘BLOOD ON THE DRUMS’
Photo by Ryan Fleming
Review by Yising Kao
BLOOD ON THE DRUMS is an eclectic collection of songs, bursting with rock n’ roll and taking listeners through an exhilarating journey of vulnerability, passion, and love. I admire how this album has a completely different style from Irwin’s debut album, ‘Superbloom,’ which has a more mellow, acoustic sound. Irwin showcases his diverse artistry through his music and I’m excited that he has endeavored into creating solo music, in addition to being in 5 Seconds of Summer.
“Lose You” is my favorite song from the album! With an upbeat pop rock melody, this song is so much fun to sing along to and it has an alluring melody that flows seamlessly with Irwin’s high notes. “BLOOD ON THE DRUMS” is the perfect title track and if Irwin had a theme song, this would be it. At Irwin’s show, he incorporated drumming as well as singing which was amazing!
“Breakup” is also one of my favorite songs and a fan favorite. Through the lyrics “Let the power of sеduction be your friend / Sink your teeth into a night that never ends,” Irwin sings from a perspective of someone who yearns to be with their crush who’s already in a relationship. This song is sensual and captivating with haunting high-pitched background vocals and an enticing rock melody.
Photo by Yising Kao
Listeners can instantly hear how Irwin’s passion and energy shines through every song, through his soulful vocals to each powerful guitar riff. Watching Irwin perform these new songs live was a transcending experience. Despite the album being released for only one day so far, the audience was already screaming the lyrics to every song. Irwin has a confident and dazzling stage presence – he was running around, interacting with his bandmates, and truly rocking out, headbanging to the fullest. At the end of the show, fans threw red roses onto the stage and it was a beautiful moment. Listening to BLOOD ON THE DRUMS makes me feel empowered in a positively intoxicating way. Irwin has invited us into his invigorating world of introspective lyrics and thunderous melodies. I’ll be listening to this album nonstop!
Photo by Ryan Fleming
Ashton Irwin, drummer of the pop-rock quartet 5 Seconds of Summer (5SOS), has released today his anticipated second solo album, BLOOD ON THE DRUMS. The album is available now on all platforms HERE.
The latest single “The Canyon,” and the opening track of the new album begins with a lilting, reggae-infused sound before it builds into a frenzied climax and then evolves into a warm, multi-tracked psychedelia reminiscent of 1970s Laurel Canyon. Lyrically, the song addresses the epidemic of male suicide under its dynamic sound.
“‘The Canyon’ is potentially the cornerstone of the record conceptually and for me as a human being,” says Irwin. “It taps into breaking the chain: the son of an addict or the son of a gambler or the son of an alcoholic, or whatever your experience in life may be. It explores the concept of ‘am I able to become my own man? Am I able to escape what my father was? Am I able to make my apple fall far from the tree?’ It addresses the times when the depression of the monotony of life can set in, and you're fighting to retain your inner fire and motivation to live.”
The video for “The Canyon” out this Friday is the latest visual piece to be released from BLOOD ON THE DRUMS. Irwin encapsulated each of the 16 tracks on the album in a music video and will continue to release them throughout the month of August. “The Canyon” is the fourth video and follows “Straight To Your Heart,” “Breakup” and the title track, “Blood On The Drums.”
Irwin chose to release BLOOD ON THE DRUMS in two installments, “The Thorns” (Side 1 of the album), consisting of the first eight tracks and “The Roses” (Side 2) which today completes the full album.
BLOOD ON THE DRUMS, a title Irwin calls “a metaphor for how much I’ve given my music,” is the follow up to 2020’s Superbloom. The new album is a forward-thinking collection of songs that combines infectious 80s-tinged anthems, barbed rock bangers, dubby art-pop and more. Unlike Superbloom, crafted during the pandemic and full of personal reflection and poignant contemplation, BLOOD ON THE DRUMS looks more outward than inward. Weaving through the highs and lows of Irwin’s life over the past decade and emerging with songs built to connect on a mass scale, where universal themes are wrapped around personal tales.
“I was thinking about the people I left behind, the people I miss, the family that I had to leave when I was young. Thinking about the addictions I’ve been through. The way I evolved as a young man who never had a father. Thinking about my personal strength and knowing that generally speaking no one else has my back but me and becoming someone that I have to be for the rest of my life,” he says.
BLOOD ON THE DRUMS allows Irwin to take center stage as a bona-fide frontman, while showcasing his songwriting, lead vocals and of course his dynamic drumming.
Irwin and his bandmates in 5 Seconds of Summer have sold over 18 million albums, 6 million concert tickets and amassed streaming figures that top 10 billion, with diehard fans populated around the globe.
Photo by Andy DeLuca
BLOOD ON THE DRUMS – tracklisting:
The Thorns:
Straight To Your Heart
Breakup
BLOOD ON THE DRUMS
I See The Angels
Lose You
Rebel at Heart
Last Night Of My Life
Indestructible
The Roses:
The Canyon
California Holds Her Breath
Little Spark
Wicked Habit
Marry You
Glory Days
Wild Things
Endless Wave
