Review: Ash at Rosemount Hotel

Ash play 1977 at Rosemount Hotel
w/ Unicorn
Friday, September 4, 2026

Ash‘s timing couldn’t have been more perfect. Released in 1996 with a year to go on Britpop’s peak, the Northern Irish band’s debut album 1977 was a youthful rush of adrenaline. Produced by Owen Morris fresh off turning Oasis into a household name, it had the hooks to match its sonic innovation, and for a moment there we were all set to live forever.

Celebrating 1977‘s 30th anniversary with a blazing set plus two encores, Friday night’s Australian tour opener was LOUD. Frontman Tim Wheeler has a huge guitar sound, and with the aid of a little backing track here and there, a three-piece has rarely sounded this full. From the opening swell of Richard Strauss’ Also sprach Zarathustra segueing into that signature TIE fighter sample at the start of Lose Control, the volume was dialled to 11 from the start.

Played front to back, it’s the perfect record to see live. Frontloaded with singles Goldfinger and Girl from Mars, the pit was instantly moshing, while I’d Give You Anything‘s heavy riffage juxtaposed nicely against Gone the Dream‘s melancholic approach, which benefits from a rawer, more rustic approach live.

The album’s peak on middle two songs Kung Fu and Oh Yeah is timeless for fans. The former is simply a perfect indie rock song, while the latter is a young lovers singalong par excellence. It’s easy to forget Ash were just teenagers when these songs were written, but their youthful abandon made it harder to believe these songs were 30 years old. Was it our youth or theirs we were reminiscing? Probably both, to be fair.

Ostensibly a frontloaded record, Ash’s live show is in such good nick that there was hardly a minute where the deep cuts felt like lesser tracks. From the rolling Teenage Fanclub-esque pop of Let It Flow to the Beach Boys-indebted harmonies of Lost in You, the back half was much more than just fan favourite Angel Interceptor.

Following a brief encore, Ash returned with a rocked-up, live take on Zarathustra, which also opens latest album Ad Astra. Wheeler lived up to his shredding credentials on Fun People and the new record’s title track, both of which feature creative Blur axe-man Graham Coxon on their recorded counterparts. Also of note was a cover of Harry Belafonte’s Jump in the Line which tore up the dance floor (Belafonte’s 1961 version later acting as exit music when the lights came up).

Above all, the encores were a chance for fans to hear old favourites and despite nothing from second album Nu-Clear Sounds, the major bases were covered with the likes of A Life Less Ordinary, an anthemic Shining Light, and the song that started it all, Jack Names the Planets. A final encore was welcome given finale classic Burn Baby Burn hadn’t been aired, and by the end of 100 minutes our eardrums were thoroughly pummelled in the most memorable of ways.

Earlier, local outfit Unicorn made firm friends with a packed Rosemount main room. With a distinctly 90s vibe care of grungy guitars and a psychedelic twist that at times evoked the carny (Wonderful Wonderful), there was even a bit of Muse in guitarists Jack Charles and Jenna Hardie’s triumphant builds. With a few familiar faces on stage and a terrific new single in Sweet Ride showing off some Beach Boys-inspired harmonies of their own, 2026 already feels like a winner for Unicorn, and high time for a debut album.

HARVEY RAE

Photos by Linda Dunjey