Ash “Ad Astra”
Perennial ’90s power-pop heroes Ash return this autumn with Ad Astra, their ninth studio album. Now well into their fourth decade together, Tim Wheeler, Mark Hamilton and Rick McMurray prove their knack for euphoric choruses and rocket-fuelled energy remains undiminished. In fact, Ad Astra sounds like the work of a band freshly recharged, eager to maintain the momentum reignited by 2023’s Race The Night – hailed by many as their best record in two decades. This follow-up wastes no time in building on that creative resurgence.
The album bursts open with Zarathustra, a cosmic spin on 2001: A Space Odyssey’s iconic theme, transformed into a swaggering, tongue-in-cheek statement of intent. From there, Ad Astra finds a satisfying balance between Ash’s trademark guitar punch and moments of melodic reflection. The driving force of Fun People, Hallion and Dehumanised contrasts beautifully with the gentler shimmer of Which One Do You Want and My Favourite Ghost, highlighting the band’s dual personality – the anthemic rockers and heartfelt dreamers that fans have cherished since Trailer (1994).
Lead single Give Me Back My World, with its tongue-in-cheek video featuring the band as space-suited Ashtronauts, encapsulates the album’s mix of grit, humour and melody. Elsewhere, Blur’s Graham Coxon lends wiry guitar flourishes to two tracks, most memorably on Fun People, a gloriously chaotic blast of punk-pop that ranks among Ash’s most infectious moments in years.
Musically, Ad Astra sits somewhere between the raw, indie-punk immediacy of Race The Night and the more experimental synth textures Wheeler has toyed with in recent years. Which One Do You Want? channels a hint of Johnny Marr’s jangle, while My Favourite Ghost strips things back to acoustic elegance and aching strings.
A cover of Harry Belafonte’s Jump In The Line provides a burst of pure pop fun, though it slightly breaks the album’s flow – more suited to a live encore or b-side than the main set. Energetic though it is, it adds little to the record’s overall arc; a tighter collection of Ash originals might have hit harder.
Lyrically, cosmic imagery abounds, yet the band stay rooted in human emotion. As McMurray has noted, the title Ad Astra recalls the star-gazing optimism of the mid-’90s, refracted through three decades of lived experience. The result is an album rich in hooks and heart – proof that even after all these years, Ash still know how to shoot for the stars.
Album Review By Darren Leach
