Nicole Ash Speaks on Latest EP 'Never Better' and What it Means to Her in our Latest Five Fast Facts
- Isabella Basile
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Ever heard of masking? Well, it is something we all do. But masking things up does not always bode well for us. Nicole Ash, no stranger to The MIC Mag, is a pop-punk and alternative-rock singer-songwriter based in North Carolina who knows all about masking. Her newest EP, Never Better, shows the world bits and pieces of herself that she had locked away. Never Better captures the messiness of letting go and figuring out who you are, and in the process. It’s about learning to love and respect every part of you, even the ones you may want to keep hidden.
IB: Hi Nicole Ash, we are so excited to be catching up with you today!
NA: Excited to chat too! Thanks for having me.
IB: First off, I have to ask, where did you learn to scream like that? And what drew you to write an EP with a heavier feel to it? Did you come across any difficulties while screaming?
NA: I’ve always wanted to learn to scream safely to add an edge to my vocals. When I sought out a vocal coach, I found one who was in the metalcore scene and taught both singing and screaming. I wanted to write heavier songs for emphasis on heavier topics and to challenge myself as a vocalist. Low false chord screaming actually came pretty naturally because I had been able to do it a little before vocal lessons, but the high screams needed work. I’m still working my way towards stronger fry screams.
IB: YRight off the rip, “Alter Ego” is a totally different sound than your usual style. How did this genre switch feel to you?
NA: It is different! It feels really good to experiment with a heavier sound on a track that is meant to feel heavy in frustration. I personally feel frustrated by feeling such polarizing facets of myself all the time, so trying out a heavy track just made sense. Plus, I kind of like taking people by surprise with my art, so it’s pretty fun!
IB: At the end of “Alter Ego,” there is electronic static noise, which I am assuming is made from an electric guitar. Why did you choose to end the song this way?
NA: The song’s outro lets the listener let the heaviness of the rest of the song sink in. The static sound is also like the fuzziness you can feel when you feel torn between two things, and actually, a huge theme of this whole EP is moving on even when the next step is unknown. So it sort of creates a small break between Alter Ego and Stitch The Thread which is much softer.
IB: I love that “Better Off Alone” starts out quiet and pensive like you really mean it, but as the beat drops, it's as if you are fighting these words. After writing and recording this song, do these words hold the same meaning they used to?
NA: They still do in a way because music always has a way of bringing you back to an exact moment in time. Even though I’m in a better place now, when I wrote this song, I felt very lost and a shell of myself. That softer part is meant to feel ghost-like and then lead into the heaviness of almost screaming out, “maybe I’m better off alone.” To me, it shows solitude and fading away, followed by admitting to myself that maybe I was actually depressed. Luckily, I don’t feel that now, but yes, I can feel all of those same things when listening back to the song.
IB: At about 32 seconds in “Better Off Alone,” there is a static effect. Does this correlate to the ending static effect in “Alter Ego”?
NA: Not intentionally to “Alter Ego”, but it does serve a similar purpose of pausing for a moment to feel the heaviness. In “Better Off Alone,” though, that pause comes right before the heavy part, whereas in “Alter Ego,” it comes afterwards.
IB: My favorite lyric is “the line she speaks comes rehearsed” in “Alter Ego.” Can you tell us a situation in which you may have experienced this?
NA: Man, there are so many times I’ve felt this throughout my life. In many situations in school, work, on social media, or even in social settings, there have been times I’ve felt like I should say something a certain way to be “good enough” in someone else’s eyes. A quick example is that I work a corporate 9–5 job, and even with aspects I enjoy, the corporate lingo and demeanor have become ingrained in me, and sometimes I overthink if it’s too much in other settings, when typically I’m really chill about things.
Stream Never Better below!
Credits:
Vocals, Guitar, and Lyrics: Nicole Ash
Co-written & produced: JoJo Centineo
