There is no doubt that Ashe is an absolute star. She’s been in the industry for years now and has established her own distinct place. From early hits like “Moral of the Story” and “Till Forever Falls Apart” to her latest album, her music has always been emotionally raw and honest. Everything she puts out just feels so uniquely her. After spending the beginning of last year on tour, she formed a band with singer-songwriter Finneas O’Connell called The Favors, released their debut album together, and played a handful of shows. Now, she’s back with her fourth studio album, The Girl of Your Dreams. While the record does maintain her signature sound, she jumps into new territory making it stand out from her previous work. This album feels more theatrical and dramatic while still carrying heavy topics. Listening to the record brings you into a world of love, heartbreak, regret, and realization. The first single “Stop The Wedding!” delves into the epiphany that you are making a massive mistake, while the instrumentals remain the perfect balance between energetic and mellow. She dives even deeper into these emotions in “Love Bomb,” which explains the psychological manipulation and toxicity in certain relationships.
“Sunburn” is another track that kind of explores this theme of how differently two separate people can view the same relationship– with one focusing on the warmth and happiness of “the sun” and the other focusing on the pain of “the burn”. These particular songs hone in on the darker side of a relationship, a relationship that she was stuck in, which is further reflected in “Always September” where she talks about these feelings of suffocation. The Girl of Your Dreams wasn’t made to dwell solely on heartbreak though, “Blue Hour” talks about new beginnings and outgrowing old relationships, which is backed up by “Funeral.” She sings about finally finding the right person, and how it feels to want to be with someone all the way until the end, with no doubts like she had earlier Similarly, “Stardust” also contains these uplifting themes, but instead of being about one person it talks about her band, The Favors, and the short but special time they spent together. Listening to this album will make you want to sing, dance, cry, and reminisce on old memories. It takes you on an emotional journey through being in a horrible relationship, navigating out of it, starting fresh, and falling in love for real. It has a little bit of everything, so no matter what stage of your life you're in there will be a song for you on this album.
- Zoe Kakanakis
