Beamed out as the climatic shag of MTV's week long residence in west London, Ash have decided the only response to such good/evil dichotomies is to ignore the fact that their every move is being trackeg by cameras and play wuth the tune-mangling frenzy normally reserved for a fan club only gig. 

On the surface this is business as usual: Mark lurches around his bass, Rick whirls over his drumkit with speccy intensity and Charlotte could give Zia Dandy Warhol lessons in deadpan cool, but there are signs of Ash maturing. Which could explain Tim Wheeler's new haircut. Gone are the flowing locks and in their place is something that has a savagely shaved parting and looks mpre recent-lobotomy than cover-of-pop-mag. It's a haircut that screams, 'Please don't call me teen totty.'

It's the most obvious of the changes that Ash have undergone as they've belly-flopped into their early 20s. But fortunately they've grasped the fact that you can progress without donning slippers and wallowing in a mid-life crisis. So they still attack 'Girl From Mars','Goldfinger' and 'Kung Fu' with more scattershot relish than a hotdog stand. It's just that these songs are now toughened up, their edges rubbed into corrugated noise. These days Ash seem more interested into cataloguing the wierd sounds Tim's flying V makes when systematically beaten than simply chronicling the first ecstatic rush of either being in love or in a band.

It's a trick thats coming to fruition in the new songs. Two are untitled and sound alternately like stiff little fingers gone art-school wierd and the Mary Chain at the heart of their surf -rock fixation. But both have a tune that would make either of those bands weep. Then theres 'Wild Surf', which swivels it's hips like a man in tight leather trousers, while 'Low Ebb' is so languid it makes 'Oh Yeah' sound like a tantrum and proves you can sing, "Feels like your life is slipping away" without flagellating yourself to prove you bleed passion. But thats nothing compaired with 'I'm Gonna Fall', possessed of a metronomic beat, a dose of country psychedelia and the essence of Super Furry Animals gone cherubic.

It's a step towards the wierd, while still being recognisable as the Ash who sprint through 'Petrol' with ferocious melody. They are still thrillingly pop, but the fact remains they're growing up. Don't be afraid though, they're doing it in style.

Jim Alexander