THE rock year has had its ups and downs, from the triumph of Oasis in Dublin, Cork, Loch Lomond and Knebworth to the tragedy of the Smashing Pumpkins concert at the Point in which a teenage girl was killed. Between these two extremes, the middle ground continued to be dominated by The Cranberries, who released their third album to widespread critical revulsion (see lowlight below) and predictably high sales.
But there was a lot more interesting music to be found in the middle of the road, with a crop of new Irish bands like, Picture House, Treehouse Diner and Indian coming up with some very listenable easy tunes.
The real weight of Irish rock lay north of the Border, however, and this year was most definitely Nineteen Ninety Six, Counties. Bands like Scheer, Cuckoo, The Bedhangers and Joyrider steered a straight path along the cutting edge, delivering energy, inventiveness and even some optimism into the post-ceasefire vacuum, while The Divine Comedy deftly handled the highbrow end of the NI rock revival.
Back in the Dublin doldrums, there were a few bright lights among the dross, including lo-core outfits like Sewing Room and Jubilee Allstars, guitar demigods Revelino, and Smiths' heirs apparent Bawl and The Brilliant Trees.
But the band which had the most brilliant year in 1996 was the Downpatrick three-piece Ash. It began in style when young guns Tim Wheeler, Mark Hamilton and Rick McMurray rode off with the Hot Press Best Band award; things really kicked in in May, however, with the Midas touch of Goldfinger, a daydreaming tune of teenage lust which smashed into the UK charts at Number Five. Quick on the uptake, the trio followed up with the summer anthem of 1996, the epic, elegiac Oh Yeah, which solidified Ash as the true voice of vibrant youth. And just in case the oldies didn't get the message, the band's debut album, 1977, crash-landed at the top of the UK charts, becoming the only debut by an Irish band ever to enter the British survey at Number One.
A whirlwind world tour followed, Ash speedily building cup a reputation as rock monsters supreme, playing hard and partying even harder in the playgrounds of Japan and the US. They tossed their platinum disc into the audience at the SFX, giving rock'n'roll back to the kids, they tossed off the brilliant Punk Boy for the recent Childline compilation CD, and they tossed their cookies on a "bonus" track at the end of 1977. Ash finish a blinding 1996 with a big gig at Dublin's Point Theatre tonight, with support from China Drum, Kenickie and 60 Ft Dolls, and as the 20th anniversary of punk's Jubilee year approaches, expect Irish rock's most infectious trio to burn even brighter than before.
