Unfurling from a snare drum are spellbinding melodies belonging to 5 Second of Summer’s Ashton Irwin (his “main” gig, if you will), trickles of his sweat, but blood? Heh? That’s a new one! Unless there’s a scrape on his finger from going too hard by throwing all of his might into it, we probably won’t list the dark tangerine substance as something left on the instrument. Especially when the flickering disco lights focus on his silhouette, forever hunched in the foreground, as the setlist creeps out. So where does BLOOD ON THE DRUMS come from? Maybe because it’s symbolic, duh!
Having an almost flower-on-the-wall perspective—please note the Superbloom reference here, his debut solo album—means we hear his mosaic of heartbreaks, summer glows, and inner triumphs through the drums. It’s his way of communicating with the world, and sometimes, we just need to shake out the energy inside of us to a punchy beat. Overall, BLOOD ON THE DRUMS is the perfect title for Ashton’s second foray into the soloist world.
Cutting The Hedges
He’s doing it a bit differently than the first time. For one, every song has a matching video, giving us more material to create GIFs. What about the second thing? He’s broken it down into two chunks. Following the drop of an EP for a musical taste tester, followed by the other tracks to jigsaw piece a full 16-track album format, Ashton is doing something called The Thorns and The Roses. As much as he enjoys the experience of ingesting a whole album in one sitting, this way, he’s also able to highlight human complexities. The first part, The Thorns, sits as the EP and comes out on June 12th, presumably soliciting all the down moments during his four-year album gap:
- ‘Straight To Your Heart’
- ‘Breakup’
- ‘BLOOD ON THE DRUMS’
- ‘I See The Angels’
- ‘Lose You’
- ‘Rebel at Heart’
- ‘Last Night Of My Life’
- ‘Indestructible’
The other is The Roses:
- ‘The Canyon’
- ‘California Holds Her Breath’
- ‘Little Spark’
- ‘Wicked Habit’
- ‘Marry You’
- ‘Glory Days’
- ‘Wild Things’
- ‘Endless Wave’
Tracks like ‘Marry You’ and ‘Little Spark’ suggest the complete opposite of The Thorns. It’s a stroke of genius, really. When we need a good cry, we can turn to one side, and when the moment calls for dancing with our loved ones under the sun, we can switch to the other. This emotional contrast makes BLOOD ON THE DRUMS such an intriguing and engaging album.
Lyrical Bouquets That Superbloom
It does have us guessing which lyrics from Superbloom belong in either category. And from that sentence alone, you probably know where we’re going with this. In this case, you’d be right. Inspired by something Ashton told a fan about how the distinguishable factor of telling the members of 5SOS apart is through their writing styles, we wanted to do some of the work for you. We won’t be playing Guess Who Wrote the lyrics, though that sounds fun! So if you’re with your fandom friends and have a scrap piece of paper lying around, scraw a particular lyric by one of the boys, and then see who is first to guess the correct writer. No, we’re instead drawing focus to Ashton’s by sorting particularly eye-catching lyrics of his into “thorns” or “roses.”
The Roses
You’re a blueprint for a future that’s paved
With its twinkling ivory keys sounding like an escalator into heaven and soft whispering anchoring into the pleas to be a “better man,” ‘SCAR’ really is that mental-health anthem. So this lyric sits in our Roses column. Sometimes, we need those mentors who are just a little further ahead in life to see what is available to us. And while it’s completely normal to feel jealous sometimes, we can always use that as a motivational tool! On another lyrical route, too, this line lets us know that perhaps our paths have already been laid out before us. Maybe we can’t see the goldmine yet, stuck in those rainy days, but they’re there, and in only a matter of time, we’ll be living them out as planned.
We could tie another knot bеtween us and some hope
This is the lyric! Ashton said so himself on Instagram Live, which was captioned as the “release chat” for Superbloom. Therefore, naturally, we must love this line slotted into ‘Drive’s pre-chorus just as much, and we do. How could we not? The imagery is clearly there, the visual “knot,” perhaps the red string of fate that often wraps around those who are meant to be in our lives, whether romantic or platonic. In this case, it’s platonic, Ashton consoling a friend. It’s also quite similar to the bandage one wraps around something broken to stitch it back together. Think about when we grab sticky tape to bandage up an object. It’s nearly broken one minute, just like the muse in the song who presumably misses her ex. Then those nearly snappable pieces have become whole again. The “hope” is synonymous with all the good feelings a Rose song gives us!
The Thorns
Will I find the tiger’s dinner? / Waiting while my hair grows thinner
The question asked on this psychedelic 80s-rock ballad is, ‘Have U Found What Ur Looking For?’ Ashton’s answer is probably a Thorn-laced “not yet.” There are so many witty one-liners found within its lyric, of which bathroom is exchangeable with whatever room you desire in “Everest is the bathroom at the top of the goddamn stairs.” The answer we’re giving whenever someone asks us to move from our bedroom when we’re all laid out sloth-like. However, we’re focusing on the bridge, and Ashton’s structured a good one at that! The tiger in this couplet personifies the mouthwatering desire we often have to go after our goals. But while tigers are fast to pursue their dinner, every clock tick signifies how slow it feels for our dreams to arrive.
Summer’s ever-haunting glow / Oh, it seems that I’m the last one to let it go
For those who can’t tell between his hybridizing American-Australian accent, Ashton sways toward the latter concerning his birthplace, making this lyric on ‘Greyhound’ even more symbolic. We mean far past symbolism already laced into the title—Ashton grew up around greyhound races due to his mother’s relationship with a trainer. Animal cruelty was often centered around these races if the dog didn’t claim first prize. This then could contrast the competitiveness surrounding the music industry. He takes on the POV of the greyhound. Pretty gnarly, Thorn-categorised stuff! As for the actual lyric highlighted, Australia seemingly has an endless summer until it doesn’t. Ashton wants to hold onto those glints of happiness because it’s all he once knew. Once it does, the barreling of thunderstorms comes, and Ashton is still trying to see the peeks of sun through the rain clouds.
Sometimes Roses Have Thorns
You’ll be my hero here in the dark / Saving my mind from ticking
There are some roses that we’ve categorized that don’t have thorns. They’re just ideally kept stems. But if we’re talking about the complexities of life, then sometimes our minds can become clouded, and we have a tug of war between both sides—we call this the hot and cold effect. So, thereby, while ‘Straight To Your Heart’ sits as a Thorn, this lyric blooms the rosebud. It lets us know that having an anchor outside of ourselves is okay. Someone we can call back to, envelope in our arms, while those overthinking roots try to decay our happiness.
Vasing The Crotchets On BLOOD ON THE DRUMS
What lyric from Ashton’s discography thus far belongs in the “staple toolkit” when playing Spot the Difference with the other members of 5 Seconds of Summer’s writing styles? As the #1 stans you all are, we already know how easy that job will be for you to do. Do you reckon so, too? Then let us know through either our Twitter @thehoneypop or Facebook!
We’re as excited as you are to add more Thorns and Roses to the lyrical mix! So, of course, we’re doing a round-up of necessary BLOOD ON THE DRUMS dates. We already know the first installment will be out June 12, with the rest on the 16th to fill in the shades of a complete album. But what we haven’t revealed thus far is that two days later, he’ll highlight a few of his favorites at the Belasco! Yes, those are the distant calls of an “Ashton…Ashton!” Snag your attendee ticket this upcoming Friday. It may not just be a drumstick but a signed guitar pick (think reminiscent of a glimpse into ‘Straight To Your Heart’ on TikTok, though you all were internally screaming over what it could sound like in full) he’ll gift to a lucky concert-goer as he takes center stage.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ASHTON IRWIN:
FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TIKTOK | TWITTER | WEBSITE | YOUTUBE
