4.5 out of 5.0 stars
Ashlyn Rae Willson, better known as Ashe, is no stranger to redefining her own name. With her new album, “Willson,” she is now setting a new precedent for what her name stands for.
“Willson,” released Sept. 6, is both Ashe’s third studio album and the third piece of her self-titled series. This album is her first independently-released album because her first two albums –– evidentially titled “Ashlyn” and “Rae” –– were created under a record label, whereas “Willson” is completely owned by Ashe. This self-ownership serves as a metaphor of independence because “Willson” marks Ashe’s resurgence into the music industry, the reconciliation of her wounded past and the start of her self-rediscovery.
Ashe began her Fun While It Lasted Tour in Australia and New Zealand in 2022, and was scheduled to travel to the U.S. and Europe for a second leg going into 2023. On Feb. 1, 2023, Ashe announced her decision to cancel and refund the remaining tour dates to prioritize her mental health. This did not come as a complete surprise to her fan base because the singer has hinted at her struggles with grief and depression in her music after the death of her brother in 2020.
Haunting authenticity within her lyricism is not a new quality of Ashe’s music, but “Willson” is set apart for its unfiltered confidence and experimentation with genre-blending and unusual production choices.
“Please don’t fall in love with me” gives the album a soft opening with angelic self-harmonies. In Ashe’s typical alternative-pop style, she interrupts this tranquility with a shocking bridge. With this first track, Ashe alerts listeners that her time off has not damaged her boldness. This is proven in tracks like her most mysterious and devastating “Pull The Plug,” which uses faded heart-monitor sounds and anticipatory unfinished lines to draw questions as to which personal trauma the song refers to.
The haunting lyricism of “Willson” cuts deep like a paradoxical knife, one that has never been wielded by Ashe with such power. She constantly juxtaposes tempo with tone to create a listening environment of constant uncertainty and buzz. This is shown in the accelerated tempo in “Cherry Trees” as she sings about a love that isn’t hers anymore, as well as in the upbeat tone of “Running Out Of Time” that celebrates the fleeting nature of youthfulness.
Again, her lyrics are a captivating delivery system for the harsh reality of the emotional truths behind the songs. “Helter Skelter” is the halfway mark of the album and is an absolute focal point for this narrative journey. Although soft sounding, this track tells the difficult story of her “calling in sick for the rest of this year.” The song’s delicate guitar picking and whimsical, sweet vocals are a great metaphorical transition for the future of her career as an artist because the rest of the album references her comeback –– from both her career hiatus and her hardships with grief and domestic abuse.
“Dear Stranger,” is a chilling and joyful love letter to her loyal fans as Ashe thanks them for sticking around during her hardest moments and for respecting her healing process. This track confesses Ashe’s deep-rooted insecurities about her own career, as she says in the bridge, “And I buried all my sin inside a casket in a grave / Here lies someone almost famous, who gave up everything.” The future of Ashe’s career is uncertain, but she is not sugarcoating her nerves.
As the album progresses, Ashe pulls out more tricks and proves the stamina of her engaging presence and unpredictableness with the chilling track “Castle.” Abrupt transitions between ballad-like vocals and spoken lines are accompanied by the blending of bass-heavy beat drops with an edgy string-orchestra that fades in and out.
While the second half of the album focuses more on her current happiness and excitement for her future marriage, the second-to-last track, “Devil Herself,” transitions back to the reflective nature of the earlier tracks. At first, this seems awkward and counter-intuitive to the album’s otherwise chronological structure, but the chorus line makes sense of this choice because she belts, “I fell in love with someone else.” This song is a powerful measurement of the progress Ashe has made and is a triumphant declaration of her independence. The blending of minor chords and harsh drum beats creates an uncomfortable tension that mirrors the complexity of the song.
By the end, Ashe reclaims ownership of her chosen mononymous nickname. In the self-titled final track, “Ashe,” the California native is honest about the fraudulent nature of her old life which she has thankfully left behind. She sings, “So, I left California ‘cause California was a lot / It was heat strokes and suntans and pretending I am someone I am not.”
With Tennessee being her new home after the move away from California, Ashe will make her first solo live performance debut with a one-night-only show scheduled Sept. 20 in Nashville, Tennessee. In “Willson,” Ashe has found the perfect balance between staying true to her sound and setting herself apart from her past –– a great start to what should be a very satisfying return to music.
