ASH – RESIDENT, BRIGHTON 3.10.25
The heavens opened for the launch of Ash’s 9th celestial album ‘Ad Astra’, meaning to the stars …a wonderful wrinkle in time rippling out from the celestial themes of their earliest tracks, 1994’s ‘Jack Names The Planets’ and 1995’s ‘Girl From Mars’, 1998’s Ivor Novello winning ‘Shining Light’.
Tonight at Resident Records they showcase the best of ‘Ad Astra’, playing eight new tracks from the LP and one surprise blast from the past. There was a treasure trove of tracks played, some of which debuted here in Brighton for the first time ever!
‘Ad Astra’ follows hot on the heels of ‘Race The Night’ out in 2023– the band’s highest charting album for 20 years.
Ash are a band that keep moving, creating and adapting their sound, managing to exist parallel to multiple scenes over the decades and still remaining relevant. As vocalist Tim Wheeler said, “a strong song is a strong song, no matter what the era”- and Power Punk pioneers Ash know exactly how to craft a hit, inspiring new fans with every new release. Like Weezer they lace glorious soaring melodies over heavy jagged riffs – once comparing themselves to a cross between Black Sabbath and Abba. They are one of the few bands who managed to thrive before, during and after Brit Pop, consistently remaining fresh, innovative, authentic and still producing a plethora of bonafide bangers.
Having seen them at the Scala in London only 3 weeks ago, it is clear that the newer tracks on ‘Ad Astra’ have the same power to incite a moshpit as the old faithful, with a whole new generation of fans going wild in the moshpit to tracks like ‘Fun People’ and ‘Jump In The Line’, whilst singing along to the hook laden choruses of ‘Which One Do You Want’ which were all released as teasers before the ‘Ad Astra’ launch.
Tonight’s in-store set is an extravaganza – a world away from the last time they played an acoustic set in Resident Records for their ‘Teenage Wildlife- 25 Years Of Ash’ in February 2020 – just before lockdown, when they sat on the counter of the shop and did a warm unplugged set. It’s such a treat to see a band of this stature in such a small venue and tonight’s set was electric! This is a band who have played Glastonbury eight times!
Tonight we were gifted a Glastonbury-worthy set in our beloved local record shop with the same huge speakers and gear that I saw at the 1000+ capacity Scala three weeks ago, so it’s incredible to see such a showcase in our local 180 capacity record shop! Ash have played in Brighton many times playing the Concorde 2 in 2021 and 2017 as well as Coalition in 2011 and several times before, smashing their sets with their youthful euphoric energy. Every time they play, they gift the old-school fans their youth and gather a plethora of new fans with their mosh worthy anthems.
Tonight’s set is no different. Resident Records put a reel up on Instagram during the set saying “The Loudest instore of the year so far?”. Even so, bass player Mark Hamilton said that he had his amp down to a two so it was the perfect level for the venue.
They had more gear speakers and amps than I’d ever seen at a Resident instore gig before, so it was no surprise that it took a little while for them to set up before the set. They delivered such a high octane performance that they had the crowd in the palm of their hands throughout with their warm charm and skill. And after a full electric set they spent ages chatting and signing albums – keeping the energy up right up until the very end.
Bounding out to huge cheers they opened with the deep cinematic and atmospheric sci-fi soundscapes of ‘Zaruthastra’. Ash planted us firmly in another Universe as they gave an intense rock-laced version of the famous ‘Sunrise Fanfare’ from ‘2001: A Space Odyssey.’ Now we knew what the big speakers were for- this was epic. We had landed on planet Ash.
After greeting the crowd, they launched into ‘Which One Do You Want?‘, the slanting swooping jangle pop track, echoing Johnny Marr with its lush indie harmonies engulfing the space in pockets of blossoming bliss as Wheeler’s melismatic vocals wove through the shimmering riffs. His Leonard Cohen T- shirt and glistening guitar strap giving indie legend energy. Like Cohen, you can imagine Ash having such a prolific wellspring of material that they will be at the forefront of the music world until their Autumn years. Cohen was 33 when he released his first album and Ash were 17 when their first album ‘Trailer’ came out, but by the looks of things, they still have plenty more petrol in the tank – possibly a full garage’s worth and seem to never stop creating which bodes well for a life long career especially when you see the young fans jumping in the moshpit to celebrate every new release.
Mark Hamilton has to be one of the most expressive bass players that I’ve ever seen, emoting every note with skill while Rick McMurray’s drumming echoes the ‘Supahans’ icon on his T-shirt. He’s fierce and powerful propelling each song forward with skill. The band work as one, complimenting each other perfectly. At the end of the second track Wheeler broke into a stunning metal inspired riff paying homage to their very early influences when they were a metal band called Vietnam pre-Ash. As McMurray said of this track “the song holds the past and the future effortlessly in its orbit.”
“Are there any fun people in the house?” says Tim to “whoops” from the audience – who knew what was coming next?. Through the speaker blasts Graham Coxon’s iconic staccato voice singing “Fun People FFF Fun People”. This track is electric. Rich with infectious cyclical hooks, cathartic vocals and stylish slanted harmonies. This track is up there with the best of their five star catalogue of hits, bringing polyrhythmic, chromatic riffs and explosive hooks which are another dimension to their boundless universe. The deep heavy guitars create a bed for the frenetic rhythms that overlay it. The vocal hooks were giving Pete Shelley’s ‘Homosapien’ energy while the cathartic yells of “Yeeow!” raised the roof and had the crowd hooked.
After such a fierce song. Tim said, “I want to share something that’s never happened before!! That’s the first time I’ve ever broken a guitar pick” and he held up a plectrum with a big chunk taken out of it!. He kindly handed it to an audience member asking them not to use it in case it broke their guitar strings.
Tim checked on every one in the room. “How’s the drum audience over in this corner? And is everyone okay in front of Mark’s bass amp?” he laughed. “Don’t worry you’ll be able to hear again by Monday” said Rick on drums. Mark said “I’m on volume two” to which Tim replied “That’s not very Spinal Tap!” Haha.
He then introduced the melodic ‘Give Me Back My World’, shimmering with polyphonic riffs, driving percussion and widescreen choruses – a track that was written during lockdown, but can have so many meanings in the current climate. The driving rhythm section propels the track and while the melodic vocals soar with hook-laden grace, the crowd sing along. It’s sonic balm that totally ‘rages against the dying of the light.’
It was such a treat for the audience at Resident to be the first to hear ‘Hallion’ live. It was glorious. “We’ve never played this song outside of Brighton together” said Rick. Tim agreed. “Yea we recorded it all separately”. “We’ve got all the excuses in now” said Rick laughing. They then warmly asked the audience whether they should do the full intro or half the intro to which the crowd yelled “Full.” “Hail Mary,” said Rick as they kicked off the track for the first time. Pounding percussion, driving base and stunning Weezer-like hook laden vocals – it’s a bona-fide banger. Rich with warm Norn Iron dialect it’s a real tribute to their roots as Tim sang “She’s a wee hallion she’d take on a betallion…There she goes!” It was one of the highlights of the evening and one that we’re going to be playing on a loop.
Tim then picked up an acoustic guitar as Mark and Rick stood back and sang the poetic introspective ‘My Favourite Ghost’ showing the sheer heartfelt scope of their songwriting skills
Tim then said “This next song features Graham Coxon and if you look around the room…you will see that unfortunately Graham Coxon’s not here!” said Tim. The crowd laughed “So between me and Rick we are going to try to be Graham Coxon so watch out for some flying kicks and Rick- you can throw your glasses across the room at any point you want!” The crowd laughed. “This one’s called ‘Ad Astra’”. It was epic with space age electronic riffs, and soaring celestial vocals. The titular track encompassed the dreamy stargazing soul of the album and had the crowd bouncing as he sang “Take me up to the stars, we will learn who we are, see the Earth from above,” ending with a fierce breathtaking full band ‘whig out’ lacing heavy bass and drums around lightening speed guitar licks and fierce pentatonic riffs. To this day, I still don’t think that Ash get the credit they deserve for their stunning technical proficiency as well as poetic song writing prowess
Inspired by another songwriting master they move on to their frenetic, vibrant version Harry Belafonte’s ‘Jump In The Line’ – a warm jagged shot of pure joy punctuated by werewolf-like cathartic screams had the crowd bouncing and beaming. The whole set was rocket fuelled euphoria.
Ending with a real gem, their 1994 debut single ‘Jack Names The Planets’, with its buoyant, youthful exuberance, it echoed the fact that the band still have the same energy as ever – with the same astronaut iconography as ‘Ad Astra’ and it was the perfect cyclical way to end their set. This was a 360 degree gig with guitar changes and a Cohen-like theatrical bow at the end, giving this record store audience as much respect as a Glastonbury crowd. With their arms around each other as they bowed, Ash have the connection of a band that have decades more musical history to make. Ash’s energy and exuberance and creative drive will see them hit new heights with rumours of a synth shaped record in the pipeline – it seems that Ash’s creativity and sonic scope knows no bounds!
‘Ad Astra’ is out now! Grab your copy HERE.
Ash:
Tim Wheeler – lead vocals, guitar, keyboards, programming
Mark Hamilton – bass, synthesizer
Rick McMurray – drums, percussion, backing vocals
Ash setlist:
‘Zarathustra’ (from 2025 ‘Ad Astra’ album)
‘Which One Do You Want?’ (from 2025 ‘Ad Astra’ album)
‘Fun People’ (from 2025 ‘Ad Astra’ album)
‘Give Me Back My World’ (from 2025 ‘Ad Astra’ album)
‘Hallion’ (from 2025 ‘Ad Astra’ album)
‘My Favourite Ghost’ (from 2025 ‘Ad Astra’ album)
‘Ad Astra’ (from 2025 ‘Ad Astra’ album)
‘Jump In The Line’ (from 2025 ‘Ad Astra’ album)
‘Jack Names The Planets’ (from 1994 ‘Trailer’ album)
