Review by Paul Monkhouse for MPM
Ash have come a very long since singer/guitarist Tim Wheeler and bass player Mark Hamilton played together in an Iron Maiden covers band, recruiting drummer Rick McMurray as they formed the band that have scored numerous huge selling albums and singles.
With ‘Nu-Clear Sounds’ and ‘Free All Angels’ setting such high watermarks, few bands were able to match their raw, punk energy and incisive way with a melody but new album ‘Ad Astra’ outstrips those past glories and proves to be the finest thing the trio have done yet.
A well known Sci-Fi fan, the space theme that runs through both the cover art and opening track ‘Zarathustra’ (best known for it’s use in Stanley Kubrik’s seminal ‘2001 : A Space Odyssey’) ties things together perfectly, it’s futuristic yet very human core beautifully balanced. The gloriously rocking take of the opener gives way to the joyous and sparkling ‘Which One Do You Want’, showing the band have lost none of their sense of feelgood fun. It’s certainly infectious and when Blur’s Graham Coxon joins them for the groove-centric ride of ‘Fun People’ and the title track, the whole is awash with a patina of style that’s much more than surface gloss.
Youthful abandon and free-spiritedness blends perfectly with the maturity that comes from years of playing with each and witnessing how the world has changed around them, all this distilled into four minute songs that positively hum with life. Never preaching and always way too smart for that, each number tackles themes both personal and global, the introspective and confessional ‘Ghosting’ filtered through a bright, poppy exterior and the Springsteen meets 70’s Glam of ‘Give Me Back My World’ presenting the two ends of the story. Peppered with some great moments, the highs are regularly and the warm nostalgia of ‘Hallion’ and the strings infused acoustic lushness of ‘My Favourite Ghost’ are hard to beat.
Alongside numbers like the whip-smart New Wave of ‘Keep Dreaming’, Ash aren’t afraid of throwing in the odd curveball and the Mexican Salsa punk of ‘Jump in the Line’ has an uncontrolled mania that brings a blast of sunshine.
Rounding things off with the grandiose title track that would give Queen at their pomp height a run for their money, ‘Ad Astra’ is an absorbing and fulfilling listen that shows that after thirty-three years together there’s still a real magic here.
Older, wiser, better, Ash have just put out the album of their career and you should really go and listen to it. I guarantee your life will be better if you do.
Ad Astra is out now
Get the Rough Trade ‘Neon Nebula’ vinyl or signed ZoeTrope vinyl and other formats at https://ash.os.fan
