Ash reach for the stars on their ninth album ‘Ad Astra’, released on 3 October, 2025 via Fierce Panda Records.

Fittingly, the album opens with a cover of ‘Zarnthustra’, the famous Strauss piece that kicks off the opening scene of Stanley Kubrick’s ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’. Ash have added sprinklings of their own style to this most famous of pieces of music, including flashes of Queen-esque guitar and faltering drums. This is followed by ‘Which One Do You Want?’, a slice of jangle pop that brings to mind Teenage Fanclub while Tim Wheeler reminisces about ‘Brooklyn Bridge at the break of dawn’.

‘Fun People’ features Graham Coxon as guest guitarist and has a touch of ‘Advert’-era Blur amidst its woozy hooks and crunching, stop start riffs: ‘I look around, I don’t know what to do’. ‘Give Me Back My World’ continues in this breezy fashion, reminding us of Ash’s previous classic ‘Walking Barefoot’ as Tim pleads ‘take me away’ when it’s time to go. There’s a touch of Undertones and the band’s earliest work on ‘Hallion’ – a punk rock song with sensibilities: ‘Save a little love for me’.

‘Deadly Love’ has Tim sounding a little deflated – ‘I don’t want to win’ – against an electronica-tinged backing, while ‘My Favourite Ghost’ is a sweet love song about a much-missed someone: ‘I haven’t forgotten your smile’ and ‘I feel you close by my side’ both being delivered against poignant string sounds. There’s a tone change next up with the band leaping head first into their cover of Harry Belafonte’s ‘Jump in the Line’ (you’ll recognise it from ‘Beetlejuice’). Honed on their recent tour with The Darkness, you can just imagine how much fun the crowds have in the live setting.

We hear touches of Springsteen’s ‘Hungry Heart’ in ‘Keep Dreaming’, before it evolves into a a lustful glam rock stomp with its demands to ‘please, don’t stop’ and declaration that ‘I keep dreaming of you’. This power pop sound continues through on the penultimate ‘Ghosting’ before Graham Coxon returns to close the album with the title track. A wide-eyed vision of exploration beyond our world, this song contains repeated vocal to-and-fro’s – ‘Take me up to the stars, we will learn who we are. See the Earth from above, we’ll be falling in love’ – and will make you want to join Ash on their next intergalactic adventure.

With ‘Ad Astra’, Ash continue to soar.

14th October – Zepp, Fukuoka, Japan
16th October – Zepp, Osaka, Japan
17th October – Zepp, Nagoya, Japan
20th October – Gigs, Sendai, Japan
21st October – KT Zepp, Yokohama, Japan
14th November – Shiiine On Weekender, Minehead, UK
16th November – Sin City, Swansea, UK
18th November – Boiler Shop, Newcastle, UK
19th November – New Century Hall, Manchester, UK
20th November – SWG3 Galvanizers, Glasgow, UK
22nd November – Bootleg Social, Blackpool, UK
23rd November – The Foundry, Sheffield, UK
25th November – O2 Academy, Oxford, UK
5th December – Mike The Pies, Listowel, Ireland
6th December – Spirit Store, Dundalk, Ireland
7th December – Róisín Dubh, Galway, Ireland
9th December – Cyprus Avenue, Cork, Ireland
10th December – Dolans Warehouse, Limerick, Ireland
11th December – The Academy, Dublin, Ireland
13th December – Ulster Hall, Belfast, UK

Ash – Upcoming live dates 2026

6th February | The Forum, Tunbridge Wells, UK
7th February | Junction, Cambridge, UK
8th February | The Craufurd Arms, Milton Keynes, UK
10th February | Phoenix, Exeter, UK
11th February | The Trinity Centre, Bristol, UK
13th February | Grand Central Dome, Liverpool, UK
14th February | The Sugarmill, Stoke-On-Trent, UK
15th February | The Welly, Hull, UK
17th February | Epic Studios, Norwich, UK
19th February | O2 Academy, Birmingham, UK