Blackout was the last significant track to be written and performed by The Ashes in 2004.
It was written the day the U.S. invaded Iraq in March 2003 (on the eve of Pate's birthday). The lyrics are both metaphorical and specific, even referencing the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1441 - which drew a line in the sand and paved the way for pre-emptive invasion. There are also biblical and psychological lyrical references which provide an imagined mental landscape for someone such as an Iraqi civilian facing imminent demise.
Blackout and its sister track "Bad Luck" were presented as one seamless audio track on the initial release (The opening drums for Blackout can be heard at the end of "Bad Luck). These two tracks represent the core line-up of The Ashes from 2002 to 2004.
credits
from Wiseblood Vol.1 EP,
released July 10, 2008
Written by Ashby Pate, Shawn Avery, Houston Wood and David Crenshaw
Produced by Shawn Avery
Additional Production by Jeff Lasecki
Ashby Pate: Vocals, Electric & Acoustic Guitars, Pianos
Shawn Avery: Bass, Guitar loops and Sound Design
Houston Wood: Electric Guitars
David Crenshaw: Drums
Hauntingly beautiful “ambient-folk mini-epics” from Portland singer-songwriter/multimedia artist Dao Strom reflect on memory and identity. Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 8, 2022
Portland's Dao Strom describes her work as "song poems," gorgeously layered dark ambient folk soundscapes with a heavy sense of foreboding. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 6, 2020
This debut from the Melbourne-based folk-rock band tackles environmental issues, self-determination, and relationships. Bandcamp New & Notable May 26, 2023
Erudite chamber pop that hearkens back to the elegant and experimental production of the 1960s, swinging from melancholia to playfulness. Bandcamp New & Notable May 13, 2016