It’s been a chaotic kind of decade for Ash — but they’ve never been ones to sit still. The Northern Irish trio, masters of turning teenage kicks into razor-sharp pop missiles, have been steadily building their next chapter. Now, with ‘Which One Do You Want?’ / ‘Fun People’, they’re striking again — a double A-side that strikes like a cosmic blast, wrapped in stardust and celestial shimmer.
Part jangly nostalgia, part jagged freak-out, these tracks add new colours to the Ad Astra palette. And to crank the voltage, they’ve roped in Britpop royalty Graham Coxon, who lends his serrated-edge guitar work and sneering vocals to both tracks.
The new songs are the latest transmission from Ad Astra, Ash’s upcoming album (their first full-length in four years), arriving October 3rd via Fierce Panda.
First up: ‘Which One Do You Want?’ — a chiming, heart-on-sleeve jangle-pop gem that wouldn’t feel out of place soundtracking a lost scene in a John Hughes film. Drummer Rick McMurray describes it as “the perfect pop song,” but also “a marker in the sand for where we’re going in the second half of the ’20s.”
“It didn’t fit with the last record,” McMurray confesses. “Didn’t fit with what we thought was the next one. But in hindsight? It could be the hinge everything rotates around.” That’s some heavy lifting for a three-minute pop song. But Ash have always had a knack for making the unassuming anthemic.
On the flip side is ‘Fun People’ – a gloriously unhinged slice of post-punk mischief that sounds like Devo gatecrashing Blur’s rehearsal room with a bottle of Buckfast. All jagged riffs, spiky rhythm stabs, and sneering vocals, it’s Ash at their most sonically curious.
“It’s been a while since Tim came to us with the most bonkers riff and declared it to be a pop song,” McMurray quips. “Polyrhythmic chromatic riffs might be more the sort of thing you’d associate with Devo, but somehow he’s married it with massive hooks… Big barbed hooks that sink their claws into the ‘Fun People’ that magically appear in everyday life to make it hell.”
You can practically hear the smirk behind the words. But Graham Coxon’s involvement goes far beyond a guest spot — his fingerprints are all over both tracks, adding a squall of guitar chaos and hefty dose of sardonic cool. It’s the sound of two generations of British alt-rock titans finding common ground and lighting it on fire.
Fans will get to see the whole volatile concoction live — Coxon included — when he joins Ash on stage at The Scala on September 9th and 10th.
If Ad Astra is Ash’s next chapter, then ‘Which One Do You Want?’ / ‘Fun People’ are the latest proof the band are still firing on all cylinders.
The album is out October 3rd via Fierce Panda — pre-order it HERE now and catch Ash live at the following dates/venues:
Ash – Upcoming instore performances
Tickets are available here
3rd Oct – Resident, Brighton, UK – SOLD OUT
4th Oct – Rough Trade East, London, UK – SOLD OUT
5th Oct – 2FunkyCafe (Truck Outstore), Leicester, UK
7th Oct – Rough Trade, Nottingham, UK – SOLD OUT
8th Oct – Circuit (Banquet Outstore), Kingston, UK – SOLD OUT
9th Oct – Baltic Jacaranda, Liverpool, UK
10th Oct – Liquid Rooms (Assai Outstore), Edinburgh, UK
Ash – Upcoming live dates 2025
9th September – Scala, London, UK
10th September – Scala, London, UK
26th September – Visor Festival, Valencia, Spain
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
15th November – Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth, 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
18th February – Chinnerys, Southend, UK
19th February – O2 Academy, Birmingham, UK
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