"two weeks late" was the song that sold me on this album, but lately the ones i tend to go back to most are "like a rose" and "she's driving me out of your mind." such a great album.
― fact checking cuz, Tuesday, 24 June 2014 21:00 (nine years ago) link
people who complain about brandy clark's self-effacing performances are totally missing the point, way to hold her album to a standard she's explicitly NOT reaching for. 12 stories is probably my favourite of last year's holy country trinity.
wrt ashley, torn between the tender empathy with which she repurposes a misogynist slur on "used", each metaphor underlining her point in increasingly moving ways that reveal more of how it's been used against the narrator, or "you got me" for...THAT MELODY
― lex pretend, Wednesday, 25 June 2014 09:53 (nine years ago) link
The great thing about the Brandy Clark album is how she manages to imbue the characters within the songs with so much personality in such a short space of time.
― gregus, Wednesday, 25 June 2014 10:23 (nine years ago) link
lex, I can't get past what a bore Clark is as a signal; it turns even the most thoughtful songs into exercises.
― guess that bundt gettin eaten (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 25 June 2014 10:58 (nine years ago) link
*singer
i can't imagine how else those songs could be performed to improve them. she's not boring, she's self-effacing
― lex pretend, Wednesday, 25 June 2014 11:11 (nine years ago) link
on her best songs ("Just Like Him", "What'll Keep Me Out of Heaven") her singing hits the mark emotionally ("mama wasted hurrrrr youth on"), but on "Hold My Hand" (the other great song on the album) her singing is too drab, and the arrangement drags along with her. if she could fill those empty spaces with her voice it would work but she doesn't.
those are three great songs though
― Euler, Wednesday, 25 June 2014 11:25 (nine years ago) link
Thin line between self-effacing and anonymous. I like a lot of the songs on Clark's album, I think she's a very good writer. But think about what Miranda or Carrie (or Ashley or Kacey) could do with "Hungover" or "Stripes" or "The Day She Got Divorced" -- you'd get layers of anger or humor or resignation or relief that Clark doesn't give them. She relies on the words to tell the stories. Which is why she's more a writer than a singer.
― something of an astrological coup (tipsy mothra), Wednesday, 25 June 2014 11:25 (nine years ago) link
here I voted "Like A Rose". love this album to pieces. the only one I sometimes skip is "Monroe Suede"
― Euler, Wednesday, 25 June 2014 11:26 (nine years ago) link
"You Got Me", but so much here is great.
― Tim F, Wednesday, 25 June 2014 12:28 (nine years ago) link
I love how easily Ashley can turn on a dime from such broad country performances to absolute unshaded vulnerability. What strikes me about her is her simultaneous range and control, every performance feels utterly suited to the song it inhabits.
― Tim F, Wednesday, 25 June 2014 13:08 (nine years ago) link
i think i've been playing this a lot (too much?) lately, i just heard my 3 yr old muttering "she's a little fuller/you're a lot shorter" while playing with his train set.
― christmas candy bar (al leong), Friday, 27 June 2014 21:13 (nine years ago) link
The title track for me by hair over You Got Me. Both are spectacular.
― that's not my post, Saturday, 28 June 2014 06:11 (nine years ago) link
Gave some support to "Two Weeks Late," but the duet with Shelton is the only track on the album that I don't care for.
Overall, I prefer Like a Rose to 12 Stories, but not by a huge margin-- both were in my top 5 on my Nashville Scene ballot last year. I love what Monroe does with narrative voice and how she's built a singular POV as an artist, whereas I generally prefer Clark's economic use of language and her singing voice.
― jon_oh, Saturday, 28 June 2014 15:43 (nine years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.
― System, Wednesday, 9 July 2014 00:01 (nine years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.
― System, Thursday, 10 July 2014 00:01 (nine years ago) link
My pick won!
― guess that bundt gettin eaten (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 10 July 2014 00:14 (nine years ago) link
Great! That's my favourite as well.
― gregus, Saturday, 12 July 2014 14:34 (nine years ago) link
http://uverse.com/music/artist/ashley-monroe-country-deep?play=genex-drm___GX_CD2886_ASSET
new song!
― LIKE If you are against racism (omar little), Thursday, 17 July 2014 16:51 (nine years ago) link
Old song, but great song. Saw her perform it on the Ten Out of Tenn tour in 2010 (?), and she blew everyone else off the stage.
― Bloomington After Dark, Friday, 18 July 2014 03:32 (nine years ago) link
how she sings the lines...
I know I'm not some bright and shinyPolished upCar that's sparkling newRight off the salesroom floor
...is just next level, idk.
― LIKE If you are against racism (omar little), Saturday, 25 October 2014 07:47 (nine years ago) link
but really, that whole song
I love the new single, co-written with Luke Laird. It's a better "Lotta Love."
http://tasteofcountry.com/ashley-monroe-on-to-something-good/
― guess that bundt gettin eaten (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 8 March 2015 18:37 (nine years ago) link
yeah thumbs up for this!
― lex pretend, Monday, 9 March 2015 21:12 (nine years ago) link
bit obsessed with this now actually, what a brilliant song
"the winding of the road is steadying my soul" <3
― lex pretend, Tuesday, 10 March 2015 11:47 (nine years ago) link
That line stood out, more so with that quasi-disco backing.
― guess that bundt gettin eaten (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 10 March 2015 11:59 (nine years ago) link
it gives me the kind of rush that i don't get from eg the new carly rae
― lex pretend, Tuesday, 10 March 2015 12:04 (nine years ago) link
that's very nice. I like hearing a song as upbeat as this from a woman; feels like taking something good from bro-country without conceding its topical vices. Vince Gill is producing the record too!
― droit au butt (Euler), Tuesday, 10 March 2015 12:37 (nine years ago) link
she's on to something good, you might say
― guess that bundt gettin eaten (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 10 March 2015 12:44 (nine years ago) link
This is great! Love Ashley so much.
― Tim F, Tuesday, 10 March 2015 12:50 (nine years ago) link
Vince Gill is producing the record too!
! Hope he plays on it! Vince Gill underrated/overlooked/not cool but usually great.
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 10 March 2015 13:22 (nine years ago) link
not Ashley related but Vince Gill's performance at George Jones' funeral is devastating
― droit au butt (Euler), Tuesday, 10 March 2015 14:04 (nine years ago) link
This Ashley Monroe interview is from a couple of years ago, but i don't see it posted anywhere. It's utterly fantastic and gives a great insight into her lyrics.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G05f5nsvh7k
― gregus, Sunday, 15 March 2015 04:51 (nine years ago) link
only just caught up with the two new pre-release songs and holy shit this album (THE BLADE) is going to be good
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyFD-YevcEM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HO86LNKx7c
― lex pretend, Friday, 19 June 2015 13:56 (eight years ago) link
24 july!
― lex pretend, Friday, 19 June 2015 13:57 (eight years ago) link
Re "The Blade" – now here's a way to invigorate a tired metaphor with an unexpected spin (unlike, say, most of the Musgraves album).
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 19 June 2015 14:02 (eight years ago) link
great album title, right? and even better when you hear the metaphor
― lex pretend, Friday, 19 June 2015 14:08 (eight years ago) link
"i buried your love alive" - never thought ashley would be interested in the gothic side of country but here we are and it's excellent
new album streaming. it's MAGNIFICENT
http://www.npr.org/2015/07/15/422555795/first-listen-ashley-monroe-the-blade
― lex pretend, Thursday, 16 July 2015 13:01 (eight years ago) link
"dixie" is especially whoa
"If Love Was Fair" is my jam. Sounds like early eighties Fleetwood Mac.
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 16 July 2015 13:04 (eight years ago) link
Yeah this is v good. Better than the first probably.
― abcfsk, Thursday, 16 July 2015 13:34 (eight years ago) link
sounds good so far, little sleepy
― j., Thursday, 16 July 2015 16:20 (eight years ago) link
It's not better -- this one has two duds.
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 16 July 2015 16:57 (eight years ago) link
going to try to figure out which
― insufficiently familiar with xgau's work to comment intelligently (BradNelson), Thursday, 16 July 2015 17:13 (eight years ago) link
yeah i heard no outright duds, "mayflowers" might be a bit inessential (or maybe i'm just skipping it bc i'm itching to get to "i'm good at leavin")
― lex pretend, Thursday, 16 July 2015 17:21 (eight years ago) link
(i love how it starts and ends with ashley leaving, and in between are mostly the reasons why)
"From Time to Time" and "Bombshell" are the duds imo.
I knew w/out looking at the credits that Lambert had a hand in writing "I'm Good at Leavin'."
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 16 July 2015 17:29 (eight years ago) link
"Bombshell" are the duds imo.
the goddamn hell
― insufficiently familiar with xgau's work to comment intelligently (BradNelson), Thursday, 16 July 2015 17:31 (eight years ago) link
and the chorus melody of "from time to time" is gorgeous
― insufficiently familiar with xgau's work to comment intelligently (BradNelson), Thursday, 16 July 2015 17:38 (eight years ago) link
first listen – oh god
I've lived with "Hands on You" for a month.
― morning wood truancy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 12 April 2018 14:59 (six years ago) link
from the first note i was making dusty in memphis comparisons, not sure how justified they are
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Thursday, 12 April 2018 15:00 (six years ago) link
oh my god album of the year
― lowercase (eric), Thursday, 12 April 2018 15:16 (six years ago) link
it's like diving into an abyss lined w shimmering gold
― lowercase (eric), Thursday, 12 April 2018 15:17 (six years ago) link
guess i could do w/o "daddy i told you" but otherwise
― lowercase (eric), Thursday, 12 April 2018 15:50 (six years ago) link
it is ridiculous how great she is
― omar little, Thursday, 12 April 2018 15:54 (six years ago) link
i'm gonna fall in love with all of these songs
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Friday, 13 April 2018 22:29 (six years ago) link
This album is amazing.
Ashley's voice is so distinct and so completely defines her material. Like at times I get the sense that she could keep pushing in the country-soul direction and end up having some kind of Norah Jones-like crossover success if she wanted to, but then I wonder if her voice is almost too charged for that to happen.
― Tim F, Saturday, 14 April 2018 02:23 (six years ago) link
I hate NPR streams, so I'm just getting to this now on Spotify. A pure delight!
― Johnny Fever, Friday, 20 April 2018 04:36 (six years ago) link
can y'all imagine a Trio update with Monroe, Womack, and Lambert?
― morning wood truancy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 20 April 2018 10:14 (six years ago) link
this is gorgeous & I will be listening again and again and again.
I was trying to think of how she could hit & ok, maybe a Norah Jones direction could work, but yes, her singing isn't smooth exactly, she cries, in that way she's like Tammy Wynette & Tammy never crossed over (except with the KLF, lol).
― droit au butt (Euler), Friday, 20 April 2018 14:11 (six years ago) link
― lowercase (eric), Thursday, April 12, 2018 8:16 AM (one week ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Saturday, 21 April 2018 21:00 (six years ago) link
I'm stiffening a little -- some songs are rote ("Keys to the Kingdom") -- and to my ears the Womack album last year does elegantly wasted over more varied subject matter than this one. Still! A fine album.
― morning wood truancy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 21 April 2018 21:10 (six years ago) link
i can sort of see that re "keys to the kingdom"? but also it'd be one of my favorites for the bass alone, and the way the drums form a sort of path of stones under her is so lovely
― lowercase (eric), Saturday, 21 April 2018 21:20 (six years ago) link
i think "paying attention" is my favorite but i've been listening to "mother's daughter" an inordinate amount
― lowercase (eric), Saturday, 21 April 2018 21:22 (six years ago) link
first time through i thought it could've used a couple more tricks in the second half, but it was still lovely to hear
― j., Sunday, 22 April 2018 00:07 (six years ago) link
New album sounds great. Maybe not as good as last year's Lee Ann Womack, but still great, a nice balance of '70s tropes and more contemporary ideas, and it's nice to hear such active string arrangements.
― Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 19 May 2018 15:30 (five years ago) link
going to see her tonight in a 160 capacity venue here in Los Angeles. pretty excited!
― omar little, Wednesday, 8 August 2018 18:29 (five years ago) link
As well you should. We order you to report back.
― morning wood truancy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 8 August 2018 18:39 (five years ago) link
Reporting back — she is phenomenally good live, and if anything her voice is even more impressive in person.
She played almost entirely songs from her new album, except for a completely perfect “Weed Instead of Roses” and a cover of “Too Much Heaven” by The Bee Gees segueing into her own song “This Heaven.” We were about twenty feet from the stage. She only played an hour since they double booked the main stage, but it was a perfect show. She played with a full band, completely confident and assured and extremely funny and charming. I feel pretty fortunate to have seen her in that setting!
― omar little, Thursday, 9 August 2018 04:56 (five years ago) link
i was there too and i can confirm all of that. one of my friends who was not familiar with her complained that she opened with an upbeat song ("hands on you"), closed with the upbeat "weeds instead of roses," and was decidedly not upbeat in between. i thought she was on fire all the way through, but i do get the complaint. but i loved.
― fact checking cuz, Thursday, 9 August 2018 06:09 (five years ago) link
Oh right on, cuz. I was near the back left hanging out. She was definitely on fire, and i gotta say that show made me wish more country artists would take a flyer and play a random small club date in L.A. like that.
I could see her throwing a couple more barnburners in there like Monroe Suede but it’s all good.
― omar little, Friday, 10 August 2018 02:22 (five years ago) link
'For your consideration' bump
― Jeff W, Wednesday, 12 December 2018 20:15 (five years ago) link
Apparently she's left Warner Nashville.
― frustration and wonky passion (C. Grisso/McCain), Wednesday, 19 June 2019 18:04 (four years ago) link
New album's out today and solid -- drum machines!
― So who you gonna call? The martini police (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 30 April 2021 10:07 (two years ago) link
starting my second time through and i was really resistant to it until I got to Drive and found the whole back end engaging and now the front end is growing on me. I may need to roll with it a few times, which is hard with the new Dawn Richard out... but I'm trying!
― Draymond is "Mr Dumpy" (forksclovetofu), Friday, 30 April 2021 14:09 (two years ago) link
if you only heard the instrumentals you would never guess this was the new ashley monroe album. I like it a lot so far.
― intern at pepe le pew research (Simon H.), Friday, 30 April 2021 15:07 (two years ago) link
first track i was like “this is a great follow up to last year’s vanessa carlton record”
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Friday, 30 April 2021 16:07 (two years ago) link
Yeah, its defining quality is that it doesn't sound like Ashley Monroe so that's part of what I'm coming to terms with.
Fave track thus far - and a good representation of her new style - is probably 'Groove'https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=do_An3ovR5A
― Draymond is "Mr Dumpy" (forksclovetofu), Friday, 30 April 2021 17:30 (two years ago) link
“silk” is the most beautiful song
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Friday, 30 April 2021 17:57 (two years ago) link
'Gold' and 'See' and 'The New Me' are sort of the epitomes of what i don't like about this shift but I need to be more patient with not letting the few clunkers put me off the enjoyable tracks
― Draymond is "Mr Dumpy" (forksclovetofu), Friday, 30 April 2021 18:00 (two years ago) link
what’s wrong with “see”
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Friday, 30 April 2021 18:03 (two years ago) link
feels aimless and weightless and somnambulent
― Draymond is "Mr Dumpy" (forksclovetofu), Friday, 30 April 2021 18:10 (two years ago) link
that chorus is from heaven tho
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Friday, 30 April 2021 18:12 (two years ago) link
she sounds heavenly everywhere tho
btw, this came out last week and is on heavy rotation at chez forks. as good or better than anything on the album imo but has gotten zero attentionhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uT8DKJHniSI
― Draymond is "Mr Dumpy" (forksclovetofu), Friday, 30 April 2021 18:16 (two years ago) link
"Gold" is actually the lamest song -- the chorus just...sits there.
― So who you gonna call? The martini police (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 30 April 2021 18:17 (two years ago) link
I totally missed the news that she had been diagnosed with NHL a few years back, but it sounds like she us since made a full recovery and this implies (without ever quite confirming) that a new album is on the way:
https://au.news.yahoo.com/ashley-monroe-her-musical-fresh-171500939.html
I also missed the single from late last year “Over Everything” which (a) suggests a partial-but-not-total return to country; and (b) is lovely.
I found Rosegold a bit too deliberate in its shift at times; this feels a bit more comfortable while still occupying a pretty gauzy, atmospheric space.
― Tim F, Tuesday, 20 February 2024 07:01 (two months ago) link
Oh wow, didn't know that stuff either. Glad she's on the mend
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 20 February 2024 21:12 (two months ago) link
https://x.com/ashleymonroe/status/1770813962164019203?s=20
― Indexed, Thursday, 21 March 2024 14:11 (one month ago) link