Ash’s new LP Ad Astra releases today Friday October 3rd and it’s an album that may look at the stars but keeps its feet firmly planted on familiar ground. It’s packed with those trademark Ash hooks, bursts of urgency, and moments of unfiltered emotion. At times it also plays things relatively safe, leaning on tried-and-tested formulas rather than chasing bold new directions. Across its 45 minute runtime, the record feels like a band rediscovering the joy of making music while reflecting on the weight of years gone by. What follows is a journey through a record that both satisfies and leaves me curious for what is to come next.
There’s a tension at the heart of Ad Astra between ambition and comfort, between reaching for cosmic scale, and settling into the indie-rock sweet spot the band has long occupied. Right from the opening strains of “Zarathustra,” I could hear the band trying to start as they mean to go on and doing so with familiar patterns rather than radical reinvention. The album never quite blasts off into unknown galaxies, but the journey is still very appealing. There is a shade of darkness lurking under the gloss and high-end production and to me that added a much needed emotional weight.
The band leans into its strengths on the record. That being crisp hooks, guitar lines that bite, and choruses you can hum before the song is over. “Fun People” bristles with urgency, especially given Graham Coxon’s guest riffing. While in tracks like “Hallion,” I could hear echoes of Ash’s earlier punk-adjacent style, albeit a little more restraint. That said, there are moments where the songwriting feels safe. Lyrically, Ad Astra flirts with concepts of escape, longing and existential restlessness, ideas the band have toyed with before, but here are more fully formed.
While listening through, there were moments I was sucked in when a track would drift from a riff into something more introspective. But there were also times when that shift felt a bit unnatural (this may be the approach the band were going for though). Ad Astra definitely feels like a band reconnecting with fun, without losing its roots. It doesn’t always surprise, but it doesn’t need to. The hooks are there, the textures are plentiful, and the occasional risk throughout does enough to elevate the familiar. If I were to put myself in the shoes of long-time listeners, I think this will satisfy: it’s a reminder that Ash know how to write songs that stick in your head and in the end, Ad Astra is a solid and often spirited offering, maybe not a perfect album to everyone, but one that definitely holds its own in Ash’s discography.
Tracklist:
Zarathustra
Which One Do You Want?
Fun People
Give Me Back My World
Hallion
Deadly Love
My Favourite Ghost
Jump in the Line
Keep Dreaming
Dehumanised
Ghosting
Ad Astra
Ad Astra http://HERE
‘Ad Astra’ rockets in with a 7.5 out of 10
Reviewer – Alan Robinson @alan_robinson_photography