Thesis: Ash delivered the last relevant Britpop album with Free All Angels in 2001, before 9/11 and everything that followed, which monitored so wonderfully large and at least in their major expression on fun, finally turned the juice. Ash didn’t care, the Northern Irish around Tim Wheeler just kept going with what they could best: Pop songs, who disguised themselves more, sometimes less than rock music. Not all of it was essential, but almost everything was pleasant.
Recommendations of the editorial team
This is exactly where Ad Astra continues. The band rumbles through twelve songs that always follow the melody, sometimes come with OH-OHS, sometimes with nicely set chord changes, sometimes with subtle electronica, and sometimes bathe in string sea. There are three highlights to report: there is “Give Me Back My World”, at least with the reviewer, exactly those buttons that already brought the emotions to cook for the Hitingles “A Life Less Ordinary” and “Shining Light”. You want to go to “Keep Dreaming” immediately love trips to the summer quarry lake, the song finally sounds a bit like the cars.
After all, “Fun People” is a surprising track, which is not only due to Ash. With Graham Coxon, someone sings that we always like to listen to. With such fireworks, Ash is also forgiving the stupid “Zarathustra” pastiocishes, which heralds this album and the vine-up cover version of the calypso classic “Jump in the Line”.
This review first appeared in the MusikExpress 11/2025.