Since the 20th anniversary of their debut release on March 5th, Ash have been steadily adding tracks to Soundcloud. I listened to that debut, Jack Names the Planets, in no small state of shock at the thought of Ash being two decades old, and let Soundcloud do its streaming recommended songs thing. Suddenly, I caught what I could have sworn was a brief snatch of Make it Easy on Yourself by The Walker Brothers, which was odd, as it seemed like a dodgy recommendation based on my usual Soundcloud listening habits and followings.

Turns out I was just something of a fairweather Ash fan, in for 1977, but picking and choosing by the time 2001’s Free All Angels was released. As such, I’m pretty sure that I had never heard Candy at any point until now, and that might not be such a bad thing: a less musically tolerant early twenty-first century me might well have dismissed this slightly syrupy, pretty Un-Ashy flossy single, and its sampling of a sacred classic.

Current me says ‘what the hey!’, it’s a clever use of a sample by a band not afraid to try something new.