Nine Lashes – ‘Ascend’ album review

The theatrical pop/rock flavor of popular acts like Muse and Imagine Dragons are right in line with the new album from Nine Lashes, entitled Ascend. Its style and substance follows the growth pattern exhibited on Nine Lashes’ sophomore LP From Water to War after the band’s debut, World We View. The band’s expanded modern rock palette brings arena-ready tracks like “Heartbeats” and lead single “Galaxy” to the mix. These two are definite pillars on the album as well as obvious live favorites. “The Chosen Ones” feels a bit close to typical worship fare, but the striking synth backdrop of “Glorious” shows how imaginative such vertical lyrics can sound. “Christ In Me” takes things a step further with a resonating message and memorable build almost sounds a bit like Paper Route. It’s a strong ending for another solid release from Nine Lashes.