What do we say about Ashley Arrison that we haven’t already said in the last 12 months? All the talk, all the promise, all the hype we’ve fed you has led to this moment – the release of her debut full-length album Hearts on Parade. And she delivers, captivating her audience from the album opener, “Trying To Help You Out,” featuring Kelly Clarkson on background vocals, to its lullaby-esque closer, “Breathing.”
Hearts on Parade plays like a musical journal thanks to mixture of autobiographical elements and imaginative lyrics in each song that are representative of the ups and downs Ms. Arrison has faced in life, making the album truly authentic and easy to relate to on multiple levels.
Often teased by friends for slow, depressingly-fantastic, slit-your-wrist type songs, Ms. Arrison ventures out of her comfort zone on this album as she effectively plays with tempos. But let’s not get up-tempo confused with feel-good, happy songs by any means. Take “Hearts on Parade,” an extremely catchy tune about putting on a facade in attempt to become someone you’re not just to please a significant other. It’s sure to have your foot tapping along while you unknowingly recite overwhelmingly sad lyrics like:
“Read a book, every book that you put on your self-righteous shelf/ Lost some weight/Lost my friends, like a fool I even lost myself/But I had to make you happy/And nothing makes you happy”
“Saw a shrink/Took a pill/Tried to kill off what was left of me/didn’t ask, didn’t tell, was a shell of who I used to be.”
Does she have your attention yet? There’s also the equally as heavy, “Caged Bird,” a chill-inducing tale of an abusive love. The contrast of Ms. Arrison’s sweet vocal tone against a stark piano is only magnified by a beautifully eerie string section.
And while I’m all for sad songs, and naturally focus on them (clearly, I have issues), the album is no downer as it’s peppered with light-hearted songs inspired by Ms. Arrison’s playful personality. For example, “Little Miss Plastic,” the tongue-in-cheek, witty warning to girls everywhere that her man is off limits, has been a fan favorite at live shows in recent months. And to be completely honest, it was always one of my least favorite songs, but ever the perfectionist, Ms. Arrison completely re-worked the arrangement, transforming a somewhat forgettable cheeky kiss-off into an addictive, sultry number. Well done.
There’s also the mid-tempo “California” that details the singer’s relocation from LA to (now sometimes) home Nashville in the name of love. While the lyrics prove she longs for familiarity of LA life, it’s quite apparent that with her nomadic lifestyle, “home” can be anywhere as long as she’s with her beau, Aben Eubanks, a noteworthy producer, songwriter in his own right, and integral part of the album’s creation.
To sum up — Hearts on Parade is an impressive debut album from Ashley Arrison as she kicks off (what we hope) will be a long career in music. The beauty of the album is that it plays extremely well as a solid piece of work as well as stands alone song for song, which is inherently difficult to accomplish, especially for an artist so young in her career.
You can purchase Hearts on Parade via iTunes starting July 1st or you can pre-order a copy now. Ms. Arrison will even personalize it for you. If you’re in the Nashville area, you can catch Ms. Arrison performance at 12th & Porter on July 1st with at 8 p.m. with fellow singer-songwriters Shane McAnally, Rachel Loy and Jill and Kate.
Source: http://www.theroundtableonline.com/2010/06/album-review-ashley-arrisons-hearts-on-parade
