Grey Will Fade

At the age of 15, Charlotte Hatherley became the guitarist of Nightnurse. Over the course of the next two years, she grew as a musician while performing on the club circuit.[1] Around this time, Ash frontman Tim Wheeler was interested in bringing in another guitarist after witnessing the interplay between Weezer members Rivers Cuomo and Brian Bell.[2] After learning through mutual friends, Hatherley joined Ash initially on a temporary basis.[3] She performed on the band's non-album single "A Life Less Ordinary", released in October 1997.[4] As the band was impressed by Hatherley's contribution, she was made an official member.[3] Over the course of the next four years, Hatherley appeared on the band's second and third studio albums Nu-Clear Sounds (1998) and Free All Angels (2001).[5][6]

She co-wrote three songs across the two albums, and had sole writing credit for the B-sides "Taken Out" and "Gonna Do It Soon".[1][5][6] "There's a Star", the fifth single from Free All Angels, featured Hatherley's "Grey Will Fade" as a B-side.[1] Between October 2003 and January 2004, the band were recording Meltdown (2004) in Los Angeles, California.[7][8] Spurred on by a positive reaction to "Grey Will Fade", Hatherley set about recording a solo album with Rob Ellis.[9][10] There were a few instances where Hatherley would be recording with Ash during the mornings, only to spend the afternoons on the other side of Los Angeles recording her album.[11] The sessions lasted for a month; she attempted to create "XTC-style music with B-52's vocals."[9]

Musically, the sound of Grey Will Fade has been described as pop punk and power pop, with Hatherley's vocals recalling elements of Tanya Donelly, Polly Harvey and Björk.[12] Hatherley noted a contrast in its indie-based sound to her bandmates' heavy metal roots. She added that as Meltdown was "definitely more heavy metal", she made "something which was more the kind of music I love," citing David Bowie, Kate Bush, and XTC.[13] Grey Will Fade has sparse song arrangements, predominantly led by Hatherley's guitarwork.[14]

The opening track "Kim Wilde" name checks "Kids in America" (1981) and "Chequered Love" (1981) by Kim Wilde.[12] The song incorporates guitars in the vein of Blondie, Fleetwood Mac-esque vocal harmonies, and varying tempo changes.[15] "Paragon" is reminiscent of Ash's earlier material, and is followed by "Summer", which features handclaps and Jools Holland-esque piano work.[12][16] The Pixies-lite "Stop" utilizes metallic krautrock guitar parts.[17][18] The acoustic and electronica track "Where I'm Calling From" shares a similar structure to "Space Oddity" (1969) by Bowie.[12][14][16] "Bastardo" is the story of a Spanish man who steals a guitar, and was compared to the works of Kirsty MacColl.[12] The closing track "Grey Will Fade" is an optimistic message to a friend who was struggling in school.[11]

NME reported in March 2004 that Hatherley's debut was scheduled for release later in the year.[9] On 22 May 2004, Grey Will Fade was formally announced for release in August of that year.[10] Between May and August 2004, Hatherley was occupied touring with Ash in support of Meltdown.[19][20] "Kim Wilde" was released as a digital-only single on 7 June 2004.[10] Hatherley explained that she didn't expect people to buy it physically, and to her surprise, the track had 8,000 downloads in its first week of release.[13] "Summer" was released as a single on 9 August 2004; the CD version featured "Commodore" and "S.M.U.T" as extra tracks.[21][22] The music video for "Summer" premiered on NME's website on 14 July 2004.[23] Grey Will Fade was released through Double Dragon Music on 16 August 2004.[10]

As Ash were taking a break from touring in September 2004, Hatherley embarked on her debut solo tour, playing a handful of UK shows.[24] "Bastardo" was released as a single on 21 February 2005; the CD version featured "3 Minutes" and "I Am a Kamera" as extra tracks, while the DVD version included audio versions of "Bastardo" and an acoustic version of "Kim Wilde", and videos for "Bastardo", and a making-of feature.[25][26][27] Grey Will Fade was released in the United States on 4 April 2005.[28] It was also released Japan in May 2005 in two editions: a CD with "3 Minutes" and "I Am a Kamera" as extra tracks, the other adding a bonus DVD with the music videos for "Summer" and "Bastardo".[29][30] Both videos were directed by Edgar Wright; "Summer"'s incorporated animation, while "Bastardo"'s featured appearances from Simon Pegg, Lucy Davis, and David Walliams.[13][31][32]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[14]
BBC Music	Favourable[15]
Drowned in Sound	6/10[33]
The Guardian	[34]
The Independent	Favourable[35]
The Irish Times	[36]
Manchester Evening News	Favourable[16]
NME	[17]
Rock Hard	8/10[37]
RTÉ	[38]

Grey Will Fade was met with generally favourable reviews from critics. Rock Hard writer Michael Rensen said Hatherley offered "creamy, surprisingly multi-layered songwriting that goes well beyond the catchy tune" of Ash.[37] Séamus Leonard of RTÉ wrote that Hatherley had done "a fine job" with the album, finding "Stop" to be the only misstep.[38] The Irish Times' Anna Carey wrote that the majority of the album "doesn't quite live up" to "Kim Wilde", however, "it's still an excellent collection of choppy, poppy songs," full of "honey-sweet harmonies and buzzy guitars."[36] The Independent music critic Andy Gill called it a "confident and engaging solo debut."[35] The staff at Manchester Evening News saw the album as "[g]reat summer guitar pop with enthisastic, infectious lyrics and a charming, cheeky approach that suggests Hatherley can add yet another string to her ever-growing bow."[16]

AllMusic reviewer Alan Severa wrote that the record "sometimes trips up through a kind of over-enthusiasm, this album is indeed the debut of a rather maverick talent."[14] Barry Nicolson of NME wrote that the album was "hardly a radical departure," with Hatherley's vocals becoming "a little too bland and weedy." He added, it was a "minor triumph, then, and if it doesn't repeat the chart-straddling success of the day job, put it down to lack of practice."[17] Drowned in Sound's Tom Edwards said Hatherley "does manage to impress in the tunes department."[33] The Guardian music correspondent Caroline Sullivan wrote that the album "delves further into fluttery pop than the power-rocking Ash would deem acceptable."[34] BBC Music writer Jack Smith said that the album was "firmly traditional and far from groundbreaking ... nothing here has the punch and sheer momentum of Ash's 'Burn Baby Burn'."[15]

Grey Will Fade reached number 48 in Scotland, and number 51 in the UK.[39][40] "Summer" and "Bastardo" both reached number 31 on the UK Singles Chart.[41]

1. "Kim Wilde" – 4:20
2. "Rescue Plan" – 2:55
3. "Paragon" – 4:13
4. "Summer" – 4:50
5. "Down" – 4:35
6. "Stop" – 3:46
7. "Where I'm Calling From" – 3:56
8. "Why You Wanna?" – 4:16
9. "Bastardo" – 3:56
10. "Grey Will Fade" – 4:46

• Charlotte Hatherley - guitars, bass, vocals
• Rob Ellis - drums
• Eric Drew Feldman - keyboards