The Act: ASH

The Release: 'USUAL PLACES'

The Format: DIGISINGLE

The Release Date: AUGUST 15TH 2023

The Digital Link: orcd.co/usual_places

The Truth: Northern Irish noise troopers ASH reveal another glimpse into what their forthcoming album 'Race The Night' holds by releasing their third single off their eighth album. That new track, ‘Usual Places’, received its airplay debut from Steve Lamacq on BBC 6 Music on day of DSP release.

‘Usual Places’ arrives on the heels of recent new album cuts ‘Race The Night’ and ‘Like A God’, stoking anticipation for a record that promises to be super-charged, widescreen and with melodies to spare. Already winning consistent support across BBC 6 Music, BBC Radio 2 and Absolute Radio, these new songs bring with them what lead singer and guitarist Tim Wheeler describes as "the sound of the band reveling in the sheer joy of being a band after being separated by time and distance through the insanity of the early 2020s."

To celebrate the album release Ash will be racing the night - and sometimes the lunchtimes too - by playing a week-long run of instore / outstore live shows from September 15th. The shows will combine Q&As, acoustic sets and signings, as well as a special show at Pryzm Kingston, at which the band will play tracks from the new album fully electric for the first time.

Ash - Race The Night album instore / outstore tour 2023

Fri 15th Sept | HMV @ Oh Yeah Music Centre Belfast (8pm)
Sat 16th Sept | Assai Glasgow (2pm)
Sat 16th Sept | Assai Edinburgh (7pm)
Sun 17th Sept | Jumbo Records Leeds (2pm)
Sun 17th | Jacaranda Records @ Cavern Club Liverpool (9pm)
Mon 18th Sept | Banquet Records Kingston @ Pryzm (7pm)
Tue 19th Sept | Rough Trade Bristol (6.30pm)
Wed 20th Sept | Rough Trade East London (7pm) - SOLD OUT
Thu 21st Sept | Tower Records Dublin (7pm)

‘Usual Places’ was written as testimony to lives forever changed during the time before Ash were able to reunite and work on new music. Three and a half minutes of brisk power pop set a buoyant backdrop to its longing for all that was lost.

Wheeler comments: “Originally written as a tribute to long forgotten bars and faces as I was leaving New York, ‘Usual Places’ took on extra significance as the first thing we worked on together post-lockdown. Below the surface of the joy of writing and playing together again, there's a subconscious grief to all that was lost in those years. Friends and family, pubs and venues. This is our eulogy to them all. No coincidence the video was shot in the Marquis of Lorne, just a walk from Brixton Academy.”

Go see that 'Usual Places' video here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8g0Npr0Yl4

New album Race The Night will be released on 15th September 2023 via one of their earliest label homes Fierce Panda, and is available across gatefold vinyl, CD, cassette and ltd edition vinyl formats. A limited-edition Amazon exclusive CD with an extended version of recent single 'Like A God', packaged with alternative artwork, will also be available.

Ash will also be taking Race The Night on tour through the UK and Europe before the year is out, on a co-headline run with The Subways.

Ash x The Subways UK / EU tour dates 2023

Sat 30 Sept - De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill, UK
Sun 01 Oct - Marble Factory, Bristol, UK
Tue 03 Oct - Rock City, Nottingham, UK
Wed 04 Oct - Barrowland, Glasgow, UK
Thu 05 Oct - Leeds Beckett SU, Leeds, UK
Sat 07 Oct - NX, Newcastle, UK
Mon 09 Oct - The Academy, Dublin, IE
Tue 10 Oct - O2 Ritz, Manchester, UK
Wed 11 Oct - O2 Kentish Town Forum, London, UK

Sun 19 Nov - De Helling, Utrecht, NL
Mon 20 Nov - Das Bett, Frankfurt, DE
Tue 21 Nov - Bürgerhaus Stollwerck, Cologne, DE
Thu 23 Nov - Faust, Hannover, DE
Fri 24 Nov - Plan B, Malmo, SE
Sat 25 Nov - Beta, Copenhagen, DK
Mon 27 Nov - Rockefeller, Oslo, NO
Tue 28 Nov - Debaser, Stockholm, SE
Thu 30 Nov - Kesselhaus, Berlin, DE
Fri 01 Dec - Beatpol, Dresden, DE
Sat 02 Dec - Lucerna Music Bar, Prague, CZ
Mon 04 Dec - PPC, Graz, AT
Wed 06 Dec - Plaza Klub, Zurich, CH
Thu 07 Dec - Technikum, Munich, DE
Fri 08 Dec - Im Wizemann, Stuttgart, DE
Sun 10 Dec - Botanique, Brussels, BE
Mon 11 Dec - Le Petit Bain, Paris, FR