ALBUM REVIEW: Ash – Ad Astra

Perennial 90’s power-pop heroes Ash return this autumn with their ninth studio album, Ad Astra. Now well into their fourth decade together, Tim Wheeler, Mark Hamilton and Rick McMurray continue to show that their knack for euphoric choruses and rocket-fuelled energy hasn’t dimmed in the slightest.

In fact, Ad Astra feels like a band re-energised, one determined not to let another long gap emerge between releases, as it did between Islands (2018) and Race The Night (2023). The latter was rightly hailed as their finest work in two decades, and Ad Astra immediately builds on that renewed momentum.

The album bursts into life with “Zarathustra”, a cosmic reimagining of the 2001: A Space Odyssey theme that Ash transforms into a swaggering, playful opener. It sets the tone for an album that effortlessly balances guitar-driven punch with quieter, more reflective moments. The contrast between the raw energy of “Fun People”, “Hallion” and “Dehumanised” and the gentler “Which One Do You Want” and “My Favourite Ghost” showcases the dual sides of Ash that fans have loved since Trailer (1994): unrelenting rockers alongside songs of genuine heart.

Lead single “Give Me Back My World”, complete with a tongue-in-cheek video featuring the band as space-suited “Ashtronauts”, perfectly captures the mix of grit, humour and melody that defines the record. Meanwhile, Blur’s Graham Coxon lends his wiry guitar lines to two tracks, most memorably on “Fun People”, a gloriously chaotic slice of punk-pop mayhem that stands as one of Ash’s most addictive songs in years.

Musically, Ad Astra bridges the straight-ahead indie-punk urgency of Race The Night with the more experimental synth touches Wheeler has flirted with in recent years. “Which One Do You Want?” channels Johnny Marr’s jangling elegance, while “My Favourite Ghost” strips back the distortion for acoustic poise and aching strings.

Their take on Harry Belafonte’s “Jump In The Line” is a lively, pure pop song, though it slightly interrupts the album’s momentum – more at home in a live set or as a b-side than a core track. While the performance is energetic, it contributes little to the album’s overall impact; a tighter, 11-track collection of Ash originals would have landed even stronger.

Lyrically, cosmic imagery runs throughout, but Ash remain grounded in human emotion. As McMurray notes, the title Ad Astra harks back to the star-gazing optimism of the mid-90s, now filtered through three decades of experience. The result is an album brimming with hooks and energy, revealing a band that continues to embrace creative risks and push their sound forward even in the later stages of their career.