Scattered Ashes announce debut EP ‘All That Is Solid Melts Into Air’

Dublin/London post-punk quartet Scattered Ashes have announced their debut EP ‘All That Is Solid Melts Into Air’ will be released on June 14, 2024. The record will receive a vinyl pressing from Galway, Ireland independent label Blowtorch Records, and is available to preorder now here.

To celebrate the news, the band have shared the lead single Kingdom, as they continue to expand their sound on this groundbreaking first taste of their new material. An exploration of sex, death and the idea of rebirth, Kingdom draws its sonic palette from Massive Attack, Portishead and New Order utilising samples, synthesisers, and sequencers. Watch the video for Kingdom via YouTube below or listen here.

Commenting on the track, vocalist Rob Dalton says: “Kingdom is a reflection on the acute sense of loss felt at the end of an intense physical relationship and the possibility of rebirth in its aftermath. The track examines the sanctifying nature of intimacy and how we as humans find our purpose in its ultimate end.”

With his deft and poetic lyricism, Dalton uses powerful biblical imagery to enclose this sense of salvation—‘Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, is this the makings of heaven, a moment of trust’—and portrays the deep state of depression one finds in its wake: ‘Can’t get out of my bed, a slow death underrated, just leave me one in the head, low depth soul feels weightless.’

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.’

“Marx was referring to non-economic relationships and aspects of human life in the future, i.e. art, love, food, family, religious conviction or the pursuit of knowledge—in short, everything that gives us true meaning and fulfilment, and how it will be co-opted by endless expansion and exploitation. This is a future the band believes we are living in,” explains Dalton, a truism that few would dare to argue against.

‘All That is Solid Melts Into Air’ encompasses these themes and 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, apathy, and greed—a prime example being They Can’t Divide Us, a track that was recorded during the chaos of the 2023 Dublin Riots, with the studio being located in the midst of the storm.

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 Dalton. “This record was special, the words and the music just flew out, it felt different.”

Fresh from a run of February 2024 UK tour dates supporting fellow Irish iconoclast Meryl Streek, the band currently 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 released June 14, 2024

Scattered Ashes live dates
30 May // Whelan’s, Dublin
08 Jun // The Castle Tavern, Luton
19 Jul // Forest Fest, Laois

Tickets: https://linktr.ee/scatteredashes

More about Scattered Ashes

Recently relocated from Dublin to London, Scattered Ashes are an abrasive and angular Irish post-punk four-piece defined by urgent guitars and prophetic vocals, occupying a noticeably darker lane than many of their contemporaries. After forming in early 2020, the band received immediate support and airplay from Steve Lamacq (BBC Radio 6) and KEXP upon the release of debut single Love Is Not An Option.

The Parallel Lines EP followed on blood red vinyl, which sold out in its first week in Rough Trade stores throughout the UK. 2022 opened up with the band listed as one of the Hot Press ‘Hot for 2022’ and saw the release of ‘Feral’ to much critical acclaim landing on major Spotify official playlists such as All New Punk, The Punk List and All New Rock, with the band since picking up wider support at radio from BBC 6music, Radio X, SiriusXM, Today FM, BBC Radio Ulster, Amazing Radio, RTE2FM, RT2XFM and more.

In 2023 they played some of their biggest shows to date across the UK and EU supporting the likes of She Past Away, The Chameleons, She Wants Revenge and Clan Of Xymox, as well as making appearances at Ireland’s Beyond The Pale and Electric Picnic Festival. 

Standalone singles Battles, Homeowners (recorded with Gilla Band’s own Daniel Fox at Sonic Studios Dublin), and Take Another Piece followed throughout the year, with the band now gearing up for the release of their first full body of work in 2024.