Indie rock’s favourite space cadets, Northern Ireland’s Ash, are back with their ninth studio album. Coming just two years after their last record, Ad Astra shows that their sense of mission remains undimmed. Robert Plummer witnesses the launch.

Ash have always had a fascination with intergalactic cinema epics. Remember how their debut album 1977 was named after the year when Star Wars was released? So it’s only logical that their latest album should kick off with a feisty rendition of the 2001 theme.

Zarathustra, as it’s called here, has seen lengthy service as intro music for rock shows. Elvis Presley, for one, played it when he was about to take to the stage. However, if that’s too bombastic for you, relax: the second track is an instant career highlight.

Which One Do You Want? opens with jangling Johnny Marr-style guitar and a melody like a long-lost Smiths tune – and best of all, it reaches the chorus in 35 seconds flat. “Which one do you want?/I want both,” croons Tim Wheeler. Having your cake and eating it has never sounded so achingly beautiful: this is one to stick on endless replay.

Before you get too wistful, though, along comes a full-on rifferama to shake you up. Fun People, one of two tracks to feature Blur’s Graham Coxon as guest, is relentlessly upbeat while having its tongue firmly in its cheek. There’s an underlying sense that the high jinks may not be all they seem: “I’m stuck here with fun people like you.”

The gorgeous melodies resume with Give Me Back My World, another don’t-bore-us-get-to-the-chorus special (a mere 15 seconds this time). Lyrically, it resembles the eternal travelling rock star’s lament: “Stuck here so far from home/Sleeping the nights alone.”

Hallion is the album’s thrash moment, softened by singalong backing vocals and an acoustic coda. Next comes a complete change of pace. Six-minute slow-burner Deadly Love drags down the tempo, then gives way to full-blown string-driven ballad My Favourite Ghost: “Somewhere between light and shade/The memories that never fade.”

Having duly demonstrated their versatility, the band obviously feel the need to amp up the energy levels again. And what could do the job better than a pogo-friendly adaptation of a Lord Kitchener calypso classic? As sung by Harry Belafonte, Jump In The Line featured in Beetlejuice, but this audacious version will surely become an indie disco floor-filler (if the floors can stand the strain).

Ash’s love affair with America comes to the fore on the next two tracks. Keep Dreaming brings a hint of the California freeway to County Down: the sunroof is open and we’re in AOR-friendly cruising mode. That’s followed by Dehumanised, which follows the quiet-loud grunge-metal template. “It’s an act of war, it’s a call to arms, it’s a word of God, dehumanised,” sings Wheeler, ominously but obscurely.

Ghosting is a short, sweet ode to the passive-aggressive phenomenon of unexpectedly cutting off contact with someone (“Maybe I’ll get back to you/Maybe I’ll walk right through you”). Finally, Graham Coxon is back on board the Ash spaceship for the title track – the band are off to remote galaxies, with unbridled guitar solos providing the necessary rocket fuel. Whatever happens, it’s going to be life-changing: “If we ever come back, will we ever be the same?”

It’s a little ironic that Ad Astra should be coming out in the run-up to the UK’s National Album Day on 18 October. Back in 2007, Ash prematurely declared the death of the album, saying that downloads had changed listening habits forever. Still, to give them their due, the band later recanted and returned to releasing conventional long-players in 2015.

Ten years on from that pivotal moment, Ad Astra comes as another vindication of their decision. Here is the sound of a band on an upward trajectory: their last album, Race The Night, was already a strong return to form, but this one effortlessly surpasses it. Quite frankly, Ash have no right to surprise and delight this much at such an advanced stage of their existence.

With no hint of “difficult ninth album” syndrome, Wheeler’s songwriting is as on the nose as ever. And his long-standing companions, bassist Mark Hamilton and drummer Rick McMurray, are still the reliable rhythmic backbone of the band.

Ultimately, it’s an artfully constructed collection that gives full rein to their varied influences and makes for an enthralling listen. Surely success will continue to follow them as they pursue their cosmic quest. After all, it’s written in the stars…

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You can find Ash online at https://ash-official.com/. They are also on Facebook here, on Instagram here and on X here.

All words by Robert Plummer. More writing by Robert can be found at his author’s archive. He is also on X as @robertp926.