ASHLEIGH FLYNN – A MILLION STARS
2013 – Home Perm
Records
It’s always exciting when you discover a talented artist that you have previously been unaware of and in some ways it is a bonus when the album is not their first. The obvious reason for this is that you can then immerse yourself in their back catalogue, which will soon be the case with me and Ashleigh’s five recordings that were released prior to this phenomenal album. In many ways her edgy, varied songs are from a similar stylistic mould to artists such as Lucinda Williams with a take on roots music that contains a strong dose of alt. country, but with touches of country, folk, a little rock and even on occasions a nod to the blues and jazz. Her lovely feminine expressive vocals are just laden with character as well as a strong melodicism in much the same way as Lucinda, Nanci, Emmylou and Rosanne, in whose company she is an equal in both quality and originality.
The esteem in which Ashleigh is held is pretty obvious from the extraordinarily talented line up that helps out on this excellent Chris Funk (Decemberists) produced recording. As well as multi instrumentalist Funk, the remainder of the Decemberists were also enlisted as were Todd Snider, Black Prairie members Jenny Conlee-Drizos, Nate Query and John Moen, Annalisa Tornfelt as well as Stolen Sweets’ singers Lara Michell and Jen Bernard.
Whilst the album has it’s roots securely in country music Ashleigh has the confidence and the ability to write in a variety of styles, tempos and emotional ups and downs, ensuring the listener never quite knows what is coming next. Often a ‘diversity of styles’ is another way of putting ‘lack of direction’ but on this beautiful recording the varied styles blend perfectly, ensuring a lovely flowing listening experience. It’s not that she writes songs that are wholly blues or jazz, folk or rock, it’s just that there are elements of various of these styles incorporated into songs, perhaps one that leans more towards one or the other of those styles, but always recognizably by Ashleigh, with those country roots being traceable on most but not all of the songs. Her vocals are more than capable of portraying the full range of emotions required by her songs from a strong fieriness to the most tender pathos without ever upsetting the believability of that portrayal, a talent that very few possess.
The songs are all uniformly excellent starting with album opener The Devil Called Your Name, a slow moody ballad that with the addition of banjo and a slightly unusual sound leaves the standard ‘country ballad’ format in it’s wake. That is followed by Dirty Hands And Dirty Feet a terrific mid tempo ‘down home’ front porch evoking country song with lovely fiddle and banjo supported by bass and drums with Ashleigh’s lovely drawl giving emphasis to that downhome feel. Next up is Prohibition Rose an incredible song that contains a blend of New Orleans jazziness with a nice vaudeville feel, backed up by a tremendous brass band and piano on an excellent song that helps provide a little lightness to her uncommon diversity. A Million Stars is slow and moodily mellow of sound, but is actually a powerfully evocative ballad with plinking banjo just behind the fiddle, ravishing lead vocal and beautiful harmonies on an intensely dramatic country song that is unsurprisingly the title track of the album. On Prove It On Me we are met with an unusual instrumentation that consists mainly of banjo and drum interspersed with kazoo, on another song that has a Vaudeville/New Orleans feel, but without the brass, on a tale that still allows Ashleigh’s vocal to shine through. Finally, Rainy Days is dominated by banjo and steel guitar abetted by a bass thump on a gorgeous song with lovely vocals and some more gorgeous harmonies, eventually joined by a ‘high lonesome’ fiddle on a quite unusual ballad.
From first play of this gorgeous album it will be obvious to any listener that you are in the prescence of a hugely talented singer songwriter who has very few peers and for whom stylistic diversity is the norm. As I said earlier I’m now going to investigate Ashleighs previous releases. I can say with a fair degree of certainty that if you purchase this terrific album you will be doing the same very very soon!
http://www.ashleighflynn.com/
It’s always exciting when you discover a talented artist that you have previously been unaware of and in some ways it is a bonus when the album is not their first. The obvious reason for this is that you can then immerse yourself in their back catalogue, which will soon be the case with me and Ashleigh’s five recordings that were released prior to this phenomenal album. In many ways her edgy, varied songs are from a similar stylistic mould to artists such as Lucinda Williams with a take on roots music that contains a strong dose of alt. country, but with touches of country, folk, a little rock and even on occasions a nod to the blues and jazz. Her lovely feminine expressive vocals are just laden with character as well as a strong melodicism in much the same way as Lucinda, Nanci, Emmylou and Rosanne, in whose company she is an equal in both quality and originality.
The esteem in which Ashleigh is held is pretty obvious from the extraordinarily talented line up that helps out on this excellent Chris Funk (Decemberists) produced recording. As well as multi instrumentalist Funk, the remainder of the Decemberists were also enlisted as were Todd Snider, Black Prairie members Jenny Conlee-Drizos, Nate Query and John Moen, Annalisa Tornfelt as well as Stolen Sweets’ singers Lara Michell and Jen Bernard.
Whilst the album has it’s roots securely in country music Ashleigh has the confidence and the ability to write in a variety of styles, tempos and emotional ups and downs, ensuring the listener never quite knows what is coming next. Often a ‘diversity of styles’ is another way of putting ‘lack of direction’ but on this beautiful recording the varied styles blend perfectly, ensuring a lovely flowing listening experience. It’s not that she writes songs that are wholly blues or jazz, folk or rock, it’s just that there are elements of various of these styles incorporated into songs, perhaps one that leans more towards one or the other of those styles, but always recognizably by Ashleigh, with those country roots being traceable on most but not all of the songs. Her vocals are more than capable of portraying the full range of emotions required by her songs from a strong fieriness to the most tender pathos without ever upsetting the believability of that portrayal, a talent that very few possess.
The songs are all uniformly excellent starting with album opener The Devil Called Your Name, a slow moody ballad that with the addition of banjo and a slightly unusual sound leaves the standard ‘country ballad’ format in it’s wake. That is followed by Dirty Hands And Dirty Feet a terrific mid tempo ‘down home’ front porch evoking country song with lovely fiddle and banjo supported by bass and drums with Ashleigh’s lovely drawl giving emphasis to that downhome feel. Next up is Prohibition Rose an incredible song that contains a blend of New Orleans jazziness with a nice vaudeville feel, backed up by a tremendous brass band and piano on an excellent song that helps provide a little lightness to her uncommon diversity. A Million Stars is slow and moodily mellow of sound, but is actually a powerfully evocative ballad with plinking banjo just behind the fiddle, ravishing lead vocal and beautiful harmonies on an intensely dramatic country song that is unsurprisingly the title track of the album. On Prove It On Me we are met with an unusual instrumentation that consists mainly of banjo and drum interspersed with kazoo, on another song that has a Vaudeville/New Orleans feel, but without the brass, on a tale that still allows Ashleigh’s vocal to shine through. Finally, Rainy Days is dominated by banjo and steel guitar abetted by a bass thump on a gorgeous song with lovely vocals and some more gorgeous harmonies, eventually joined by a ‘high lonesome’ fiddle on a quite unusual ballad.
From first play of this gorgeous album it will be obvious to any listener that you are in the prescence of a hugely talented singer songwriter who has very few peers and for whom stylistic diversity is the norm. As I said earlier I’m now going to investigate Ashleighs previous releases. I can say with a fair degree of certainty that if you purchase this terrific album you will be doing the same very very soon!
http://www.ashleighflynn.com/