Ash are set to release their ninth studio album Ad Astra on 3 October and will be on an extensive UK tour this autumn, bringing them to The Wedgewood Rooms, Southsea, on November 17th.
Containing eleven brand new tracks, including their raucous take on surprise single and Beetlejuice staple Jump In The Line, Ad Astra sees Graham Coxon appear on two particularly sassy songs and catches the perennial power pop kings in especially rocket-fuelled form.
Ad Astra follows hot on the heels of Race The Night – the band’s highest charting album for 20 years – and is being released two years and one month later, which is no coincidence. Ever the band who live for live music, Ash vowed that the fierce pandemic-induced five year chasm between 2018’s Islands and Race The Night would never happen again.
Lead singer and guitarist Tim Wheeler comments on single Give Me Back My World: “If I told you this song dates back to 2020, you’d hardly need a degree from the School of Marple, Holmes and Poirot to figure out what it’s getting at. And although those sentiments may just be a memory from the standpoint of 2025, the song’s heart still feels relevant. In a time of chaos, disruption and angst there’s still a beautiful world out there and it’s worth fighting for.”
Continuing, he says: “Have you ever had one of those moments where you feel the rug has been pulled from under you? Everything you took for granted goes up in smoke and you are no longer in control, and you can only look back in hindsight at a life that is no longer yours? I think we’ve all had those moments, and I think everyone can relate to this song. But, luckily for you it: a) rails against this loss of control and b) is a total banger. So, fire it up and rage with us against the dying of the light”.
For those wondering, Ad Astra is Latin for “to the stars”, the words that came out of a teenaged Tim Wheeler’s mouth in the summer of 1995, setting up the classic chorus to the band’s first Top 20 hit Girl From Mars.
Tickets: https://ash-official.com/pages/shows
Image: Andy Willsher
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