Believe it or not, this is only Chris Helme’s first solo outing since his band he is most well known for, The Seahorses, broke up 10 years ago. Since then he has kept himself busy with his other band The Yards, never quite gaining the recognition he deserved as a fine songwriter and a damn good voice too.
Perhaps this is due to the bad timing of The Seahorses – appearing on the scene just as Britpop was seen as the scum of the music industry. Yes, some of the lyrics were a bit daft and maybe as the first big band this writer had the pleasure of seeing live, they have a sentimental value to me, but I still think the likes of Blinded By The Sun and The Boy In The Picture sound great today, as does the fantastic solo on Love Is The Law.
This isn’t a reassessment of Helme’s former outfit, rather evidence, demonstrated when he played some of those songs for the first time in 10 years at this years Wizard Festival, that he has always been underrated. His set was a joy to behold and showed what a passionate performer he is.
That passion is all over this collection of songs. Armed with just an acoustic guitar and his voice, Helme has delivered a soulful, yet melancholic record of late night love songs. Lager-in-the-air, festival sing-alongs these are not. This is an emotional, stripped down record which at times is reminiscent of the likes of Jeff Buckley. There is a gospel kind of feel throughout with Helme’s powerful voice at the centre of it all. It closes with a re-working of The Seahorses’ ‘Blinded By The Sun’, the lyrics now with perhaps more than one meaning as Helme sings “And don’t ask me what went wrong/the list goes on and on” regarding his own career.
Ashes is unlikely to be a massive success but you get the feeling now that Helme is quite content with what he is doing. And why not? Those that have always believed him will feel rewarded by this treat of a record he has produced. Long may Chris Helme continue to make more like this.
//Kirk Burton