Originally, the duo consisted of Anders Hagström and Yasmine Uhlin. However, she announced her surprise departure from the band in Hamburg at the last concert of the Out Of line festival tour 2008.
Anders and Yazmine met in November 2005 and, upon discovering that they shared the same musical vision, decided to form a band. Their collaboration soon came to fruition with the release of a 9 track demo entitled "Angora Overdrive" after a very intensive month in the studio.
The second four track demo, "Parliament of Rooks", which was finished in February 2006, had a more refined sound compared to their first offering. They decided to send it to a few select labels because the reaction they got to the first demo was quite overwhelming. Having sent the demos on Monday, Ashbury Heights was contacted and contracted by German Out of Line records on Wednesday, only an hour after the label had received the CD. This probably makes Ashbury Heights one of the fastest signings in history. Several other labels expressed an interest in the band, but there was no bidding war as Out of Line moved so quickly.
Although having signed the famous German act "And One" at about the same time as Ashbury Heights, which ate a lot of the labels' resources, Out of Line wasted no time. The legendary producer John Fryer was brought on board to produce the promotional single "Cry Havoc" in April 2006, something quite unheard of in the world of the electronic underground. Very few bands in the synth-genre get to release promo-CDs (if any), and certainly no other band in modern synth-history has released a promo-CD produced by a celebrity of the likes of Fryer.
John Fryer would eventually mix their first album "Three cheers for the newlydeads". Released in october 2007, the debut album was recieved with overwhelming optimism from press and audience alike proving once and for all that Ashbury Heights truly is a force to be reckoned with.
In 2008 Ashbury Heights returned with the "Morningstar in a Black Car" EP, containing five new songs and four remixes. The EP received good reviews and helped keep up interest for the band. A video was made for the track "Spiders", a low budget affair which nevertheless managed to project some of the bands unique flair.
Ashbury Heights, with brand-new female vocalist Kari Berg, released their new album 'Take Cair paramour' on the 2nd of july 2010. In 2010, following a long running dispute between Hagström and the record label Out Of Line the band disbanded. This dispute was settled in 2011, whereupon Hagstöm and Out of Line renewed their collaboration. However, it took until 2013 for Hagström to find a new singer. The new singer is Tea F. Thimé, the first female to co-write lyrics for Ashbury Heights.
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Hope
Ashbury Heights Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The meanest streak I ever saw
The harmony of truth
And self-deception in our hearts
We're almost perfect
You're like a deathray
Little kid blow felt princess Saturday
We're nearly manic
Unlike a mute scream
But I'd never panic if you'd only take me
I could be your love
And you could be my hope
I could be the hangman
And you could be my rope
We could be divine
A perfect piece of fiction
I could be your drug
And you be my addiction
Words are left unspoken
As our opposites attract
Both of us are broken
And we both ignore the fact
We're almost perfect
You're like a deathray
Little kid blow felt princess Saturday
We're nearly manic
Unlike a mute scream
But I'd never panic if you'd only take me
I could be your love
And you could be my hope
I could be the hangman
And you could be my rope
We could be divine
A perfect piece of fiction
I could be your drug
And you be my addiction
We're almost perfect
You're like a deathray
Little kid blow felt princess Saturday
We're nearly manic
Unlike a mute scream
But I'd never panic if you'd only take me
I could be your love
And you could be my hope
I could be the hangman
And you could be my rope
We could be divine
A perfect piece of fiction
I could be your drug
And you be my addiction
The lyrics of Ashbury Heights’ “Hope” explore the complexities of relationships by reflecting on the contradictory and fragile nature of love. The verses explore the paradoxical coexistence of “truth” and “self-deception” within people’s hearts and its consequences in the dynamic of the relationship. The singer portrays himself as aware of his own flaws, referring to the “viciousness of youth” and his own “meanest streak,” and seeks to establish a quasi-perfect relationship by acknowledging the mutual brokenness of the lovers. The chorus line “We’re almost perfect, You’re like a deathray” captures the paradox of wanting something that could be destructive or deadly, but still seeking it out, with the plea of the singer “if you’d only take me” portraying a raw vulnerability and dependency.
The chorus’s repetition and the stanzas’ similar structure suggest a sense of lyrical desperation and helplessness, painting the relationship as almost manic, but not quite. It’s an unbalanced, unstable kind of love that can end up being a perfect piece of fiction if the lovers don’t confront the reality of their brokenness and the risks inherent to their state of mutual dependence. The implied violence represented in lines like “I could be the hangman/ And you could be my rope” and “You’re like a deathray” evoke a sense of danger and urgency, highlighting the fragility of the singer’s sense of hope.
Line by Line Meaning
The viciousness of youth
The cruelty and malice that young people can possess.
The meanest streak I ever saw
The most cruel and unkind behavior I've witnessed.
The harmony of truth
The peaceful coexistence of honesty and reality.
And self-deception in our hearts
Despite knowing the truth, we still deceive ourselves.
We're almost perfect
We are very close to being ideal.
You're like a deathray
You have a powerful and overwhelming effect on me.
Little kid blow felt princess Saturday
A playful description of a fun and carefree day spent together.
We're nearly manic
We are on the verge of becoming unstable and out of control.
Unlike a mute scream
Our emotions are not hidden or confined, but fully expressed.
But I'd never panic if you'd only take me
I would not feel anxious or worried if you chose to be with me.
I could be your love
I have the potential to be the one you love.
And you could be my hope
You inspire and give me a reason to believe in something better.
I could be the hangman
I have the power to end things or cause harm.
And you could be my rope
You have the ability to save me, to be my lifeline.
We could be divine
Together we have the potential to be glorious and extraordinary.
A perfect piece of fiction
Our relationship could be idealized beyond reality.
I could be your drug
I could be addictively captivating to you.
And you be my addiction
You have the power to be the focus of my desire and obsession.
Words are left unspoken
There are things left unsaid between us.
As our opposites attract
Despite our differences, we are drawn to each other.
Both of us are broken
We are both damaged and in need of healing.
And we both ignore the fact
We choose to deny or overlook the truth of our brokenness.
Contributed by Miles F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.