When high school students get together to form a band, it’s usually awful. But sometimes it’s half-decent, and sometimes, well, one time, it’s Ash. Coming of age in the middle of mid-’90s Britpop and grunge, a group of schoolboys from Downpatrick, Northern Ireland, took the very best from both sides of the Atlantic and mixed it with a healthy dose of teenage romanticism to glorious effect. Beginning as a three-piece in 1996, and later joined [for a time] by guitarist Charlotte Hatherley, Tim Wheeler’s band have released eight studio albums, topped the UK album’s charts twice, and had a near-miss with bankruptcy that almost brought them to the ground.
From their breakthrough debut to 2023’s here we rank all eight of Ash’s studio albums from worst to best.
8. *Kablammo!* (2018)
Although 2018’s *Kablammo!* boasts the same immensely catchy hooks we can always rely on with Ash, it did little to push the boat out. Sandwiched between two more impressive outings, it finds the trio dabbling with synth-aided post-punk on “Darkness and Light” and sweary, Ramones-indebted punk on “Buzzkill” amidst their customary effervescent power-pop. The songs are rife with emotion, but tracks like “Annabel” often veer into cheese territory, and while exhibiting moments of the infectious joy that Ash do best, as on second single “All or Nothing,” *Kablammo!* was disjointed on the whole.
7. *Meltdown* (2004)
Coming off the back of UK number one album *Free All Angels*, *Meltdown* had the potential to be one of Ash’s greatest albums. Produced by Nick Rasculinecz (Foo Fighters/Mastodon) at Sound City in Los Angeles, their fourth album is all about the riffs, showing undeniable musical chops from Wheeler and Hatherley in the album’s title track and the thrumming energy of “Clones” and “Orpheus.” It’s heavy enough to remind us that two of the band’s founding members were once in an Iron Maiden cover band. For this reason, *Meltdown* has an extra special place in the hearts of many Ash fans. Lyrically, though, *Meltdown* leaves a lot to be desired. “Starcrossed” serves up unforgivable rock ‘n’ roll clichés with lines like “You’ve got a face that makes me wanna shave.” Ash get points here for bravely cutting ties with their Britpop roots, but that doesn’t excuse the overall lack of genuine substance.
6. *A-Z Vol. 1* (2018)
*A-Z Vol. 1* could have been Ash’s last album. It was announced as such as the band vowed to adopt a singles-based approach for the digital age, mistakenly predicting the death of the album. It also marks their first album as a three-piece again, following the departure of the gifted Charlotte Hatherley. In acknowledgement of Hatherley’s absence, Tim Wheeler’s band take things in a much less heavy direction than on *Meltdown*, allowing their instruments to breathe on “Buzzkill” and “Annabel,” which finds Wheeler at his strongest vocally. First single “Buzzkill” gave the trio another Top 20 single in the UK, “Annabel” is an anthemic highlight, and title track “A-Z” brings the album to a polished, atmospheric close. It might not be Ash’s most innovative album, but it’s a worthy chapter in the story.
5. *Nu-Clear Sounds* (2002)
There’s a reason that the phrase ‘difficult second album’ exists, and following up a debut as thrilling as *1977* was always going to be tough. Inspired by tour mates Weezer, Ash employed Charlotte Hatherley, and the result is a more sophisticated progression from their raw, unpolished debut. At the same time, *Nu-Clear Sounds* feels unsure of itself as an album. While heavier moments like the glam-punk “Burn Baby Burn” and “Candy” bring a certain weight to the album, second single “Girl from Mars” sounds like a draft version of superb 1997 single “Girl from Mars” – inexplicably left of the album – and more relaxed moments like “Someday” feel somewhat out of place. By Tim Wheeler’s own admission, *Nu-Clear Sounds* isn’t a band favourite, and it didn’t connect as strongly with their fans, but it gave the band momentum, and some guidance on what not to do with album three.
4. *Islands* (2023)
Almost 30 years on from their debut, *Islands* is a refreshing reminder that Ash have lost none of their exuberance, and are still having fun together and putting all of their energy into the music they make. From the swaggering confidence of “Don’t Need Your Love” to the dreamier, laid-back “Sleeping on Shadows,” *Islands* is a triumphant, lively outing for the band. With a focus on synths that leans heavily into their ever-present pop side, it isn’t the kind of music they imagined making as teenagers in County Down. As Tim Wheeler said last year, “It wouldn’t have been my cup of tea back then, but it’s certainly my cup of tea now”. But the huge guitar solo of “Sky Burial” and the force of finale “The Last Dance” bring us the musical power that was sorely missing on *Kablammo!* five years prior.
3. *Intergalactic Sonic Seven* (2015)
Living up to its onomatopoeic title, 2015’s *Intergalactic Sonic Seven* is the punchy, anthem-filled album the Ash needed to make. After seemingly abandoning albums after *Free All Angels* in favour of their A-Z Singles project, *ISS7* marked their return to the traditional format. And from the massive drum intro of “Dynamo,” it was clear that this was an album that was worth going back on their word for. *ISS7* is a confident record in which the band strike a satisfying balance between their heavier anthems like “Let’s Ride” and “Palace of Excess” and softer ballads like “ECHO” and “The Days of the Week.” “In Cipher” is a particularly triumphant musical interlude that brings back the high energy of their debut with the polish of the band that they’ve matured into.
2. *Free All Angels* (2001)
The top two spots here are pretty much undisputed for the majority of Ash fans. By the end of the ‘90s, the band were on the verge of bankruptcy, and *Free All Angels* would make or break them. In the end, they created a UK number one album that both recognised their musical roots and looked confidently towards the future. Soaring Britpop anthem “Burn Baby Burn” won them an Ivor Novello award, but there are moments of messier electronic indie on “Dragonfly” and “Shining Light,” while punchy second single “Candy” is classic pop-punk. More polished and sophisticated than *Nu-Clear Sounds* and more self-assured than *1977*, they still held on to the nostalgia and optimism of their debut on tracks like the anthemic “Shining Light.” A personal favourite for the band as well as the fans, Ash were back on top with *Free All Angels*.
1. *1977* (1996)
*1977* is the album that teenage bands dream of making. Having released debut mini-album *Trailer* and a string of brilliant singles Ash were officially a Next Big Thing even before the release of their debut album, and with *1977* they knocked it out of the park. Steeped in nostalgia, it’s a souvenir from a specific moment in time tinged with teenage optimism and a youthful joy that would stay with Ash throughout their career, peppered with delightfully nerdy Star Wars references. The raw and unpolished “Girl from Mars” and “Goldfinger” (written in five minutes in an airport in Belfast) pair beautifully with the more sophisticated strings-backed “Oh Yeah.” The album’s masterpiece, the trio’s first Top 20 single, is the song that made them go down in history, following in the joyfully romantic footsteps of The Undertones and Buzzcocks. *1977* is not only Ash’s best album, but one of the finest records of the decade.
