Ashton Allen Preview

Ashton Allen
Wise Fools Pub, Chicago
Saturday, June 10, 2006

That’s not Elliott Smith’s “Needle In The Hay” opening Ashton Allen’s debut; it just sounds like it.

Despite the initially hushed tones on “Better Than I Know” that suggest we have another clone on the premises, Allen pops in the strings and assumes the amiable singer-songwriter guise. It’s a dance that persists through Dewdrops (Livewire/Fontana/Universal), one the Floridian has yet to fully realize. Aside from the easily dismissed factor, the similarity makes it easy to disregard Allen’s lyrics as mimicry, too, as in is he miserable? Or is he telling himself so? Producer Colin Cobb (Junior Varsity, TLC) becomes an accomplice by double tracking vocals and spraying orchestral gloss where he can, but it’s when Allen himself can remove the shawl (“Supernatural”) that he sounds of his own mind.

— Steve Forstneger

Click here to download a live video of “Steven’s Song.”

Category: Stage Buzz, Weekly