Dublin/London post-punk quartet Scattered Ashes are delighted to release their debut EP, All That Is Solid Melts Into Air, today on all good digital service providers, with a vinyl pressing from Galway, Ireland independent label Blowtorch Records also available to purchase HERE.
To celebrate, the band are streaming focus track ‘They Can’t Divide Us’, a thesis statement for the EP in many ways—an exploration of fear, hate, and misinformation in the current global landscape and the threat it poses, recorded during the chaos of the 2023 Dublin Riots, with the studio being located in the midst of the storm.
A brooding number with stark intensity, the song is marked by the apocalyptic vocals of singer Robert Dalton as he creates a dystopic vision of the present—“Here we are, wall to wall again, dark times now we face the bitter end, but can we pretend, the lies, the cries, the nation’s fall, it’s all been planned so beautiful”—and illustrates the ultimate end result: “They operate through a police state, and they keep you blind ‘til you know your fate, ‘cause you are..”
Musically, the track showcases an increasing descent into despair as the ferocity of the relentless tribal drumming matches the pleading desperation of the vocals, before finally climaxing in a barrage of distorted synth and dissonant guitar solos: “The blind leading our backs against the wall, they can’t kill us all, we pour gasoline, to believe we’re free when we’re on our knees, to go against them all.”
Recorded at Darklands Audio, Dublin in 2023, produced by Daniel Doherty (Fontaines D.C., Meryl Streek) and mastered by Pete Maher (Echo & The Bunnymen, Liam Gallagher), the EP’s title is taken from a Karl Marx quote: ‘All that is solid melts into air, all that is holy is profaned, and man is at last compelled to face with sober senses his real conditions of life, and his relations with his kind.’
All That is Solid Melts Into Air encompasses the constant state of flux we find ourselves in as members of modern society due to technology, consumerism, and the fickle nature of human beings. Across the EP the band reflect on the more destructive outcomes of these aspects such as racism, drug addiction, apathy, and greed.
The EP also ruminates on the more positive aspects of the shared human experience such as intimacy, growth and self-redemption. “There was a lot of serendipity on this record and at times it felt like we were expelling a lot of demons,” says frontman Rob Dalton. “This record was special, the words and the music just flew out, it felt different.”
Standout singles ‘Kingdom’ and ‘Ether’ were released earlier this year picking up support from Hot Press, The Thin Air, LOUDER, Post-Punk.com, God Is In The TV Zine, Golden Plec, Unclear Magazine, The GOO Dublin and more, with the tracks receiving multiple spins on Radio X, Amazing Radio, BBC Introducing, RTÉ 2FM and more.
Following recent support slots with Benefits and Selofan, the band have a select handful of UK and Irish live dates on sale now, with full listings available below and further live dates TBA.
Scattered Ashes’ debut EP All That Is Solid Melts Into Air is out now.
Scattered Ashes Live Dates:
26 Jun // The Star of Kings, London (This Feeling)
19 Jul // Forest Fest, Laois
24 Sep // Green Door Brighton (w/ Polite Bureaux)
19 Oct // Workman's Club, Dublin
Tickets: https://linktr.ee/scatteredashes