Ash are today sharing new double A-side single ‘Which One Do You Want?’ / ‘Fun People’ (feat. Graham Coxon). They are the latest pair of songs to emerge from the band’s forthcoming album Ad Astra, which is set for release on October 3rd via Fierce Panda.
Occupying two differing ends of the Ash sonic spectrum, from swopping jangle-pop to towering riffs, these two new offerings find the perennial power-pop kings in curious and inventive form. It has also been confirmed that Graham Coxon – who lends both guitar and vocals to ‘Fun People’ and ‘Which One Do You Want?’ – will join the band on stage to perform the new tracks at The Scala on the 9th and 10th September.
Drummer Rick McMurray says: “‘Which One Do You Want?’ dates back to the New York days, making it the oldest song on the album by far. So what’s the deal; why has it taken so long to find a home? Listening to it in isolation, it’s the perfect pop song. It swoops, it soars, it sings of desire. But it didn’t fit with the last record, and it didn’t fit with what we thought at the time was the next record. I wouldn’t say it’s the reason why we paused for thought and decided to make a different record to the one we started out to make, but I reckon with hindsight, it could be seen as the hinge around which every album we release this decade rotates. It’s guitar pop for sure but it’s utterly unlike the guitar pop we’ve been known for, and it might just be a marker in the sand for where we’re going in the second half of the ’20s. Is that a lot of pressure for one song to bear? Maybe, but it straddles the two sides of this band we’ve been grappling with over the last decade and holds the past and future effortlessly in its orbit.”
Continuing about ‘Fun People’ (feat. Graham Coxon), he says: “It’s been a while since Tim came to us with the most bonkers riff and declared it to be a pop song but I’m very happy he did. Polyrhythmic chromatic riffs might be more the sort of thing you’d associate with Devo but somehow he’s managed to marry 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. This ain’t your average Ash track. And what better way to underline that than to get guitar wizard Graham Coxon seething all over it? His unique sensibilities lend themselves so well to the angular er, angles of this song, as do his vocals. Sing along or scream along as the case may be with some fun people like YOOOOUUUUU!!!”
Pre-order new album Ad Astra HERE.
Hear ‘Which One Do You Want?’ on streaming services here.
Hear ‘Fun People’ (feat. Graham Coxon) on streaming services here.
Ash – Upcoming instore performances
Tickets are available here
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
