Ash have released a new double A-side single featuring contributions from Blur's Graham Coxon.
The singles are called 'Which One Do You Want' and 'Fun People', and have been previewed by the band's new album, 'Ad Astra', which arrives on October 3 via Fierce Panda. It can also be pre ordered here.
For 'Fun People', Ash enlisted the help of Blur guitarist Graham Coxon, who also delivered vocal contributions to the song. It was also confirmed that Coxon will join the band for two shows at Scala on September 9 and 10.
Speaking about the track, Ash drummer Richard McMurray said: “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".
He continued: “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".
On 'Which One Do You Want?', McMurray said that the song is one of the oldest on the album, stating it can be traced bac "to the New York days".
He said: “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".
Elsewhere, Ash also announced a run of in-store shows to celebrate the upcoming release of this album. These shows will see the band perform in Brighton, London, Leicester, Nottingham, Kingston, Liverpool, and Edinburgh.
Their headline shows also include live performances across the UK and Japan, before returning to the UK in October and November.
They will then play a number of shows in Ireland in December. February 2026 will see more gigs in the UK, finishing off in Birmingham on February 19. Find out all details here.
