ASH - Ad Astra

It's well known that "you can't judge a book by its cover," and the same should hold true for albums too, though it must be said that the first visual impression of the Ad Astra cover (same title as the James Gray sci-fi film) — with the Ash members in spacesuits, an electric-guitar-shaped rocket in the background, all framed by fluorescent, pseudo-retro graphics — might raise a few eyebrows; then, when the Kubrickian grandeur of the opening "Zarathustra" kicks in, the fear of a dreadfully pompous sci-fi concept album — not exactly the band's forte — becomes palpable. Fortunately, these clues don't add up to anything, and we find Ash still churning out the brit-power-pop we've come to expect, through ups and downs, since 1996.

Obviously it's not easy for the band to preserve the shine of their early days, just as it's unreasonable for listeners to expect new "Girl From Mars" or "Goldfinger" moments (one of the most memorable "arias" of the britpop era), and indeed a few small cracks start showing in the songwriting: the Johnny Marr-school guitar interplay partly redeems "Which One Do You Want?", whose refrain makes you bitterly miss bands who, while perhaps not top-tier, were still the calibre of Gene, while the doses of thrash injected by the guitar of Graham Coxon himself try their hardest to raise the tension on "Fun People," a track that sounds like the offspring of a fairly harmless, if entertaining, (Iggy) Pop; but perhaps even more questionable is the corporate-punk-style version of "Jump In The Line" (Harry Belafonte) which, while suited to spicing up some undemanding DJ set, dangerously edges into guilty-pleasure territory.

Luckily, Tim Wheeler and co. haven't lost their melodic gift, still capable of spreading sweet Teenage Fanclub-style harmonies ("Give Me Back My World"), as well as a refined delicacy that the Gallagher brothers' solo careers will struggle to match, on a "My Favourite Ghost" that would frankly deserve a spot on a best-of collection of Travis songs, all while managing not to entirely lose the pop-punk spirit of their early days, which resurfaces forcefully here and there ("Hallion").

If the Northern Irish trio's strength still lies in crafting catchy pop songs, in certain cases they try to push further with more elaborate constructions, thanks to the perfect interplay between a sturdy rhythm section and a chiming guitar indebted to The Edge on "Deadly Love," or by playing with the quiet-loud dynamics of the at-times overwhelming "Dehumanised" — tracks that are less sunny and radio-friendly, with a more complex structure, and that broaden the sonic scope of the band's new direction.

Aside from a few (alleged?) dips in quality, "Ad Astra" shows Tim Wheeler and co. in decent shape, even if this new britpop youthfulness is unlikely to shine as brightly as that of more celebrated acts (chief among them Suede).

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08/03/2026