Album Review: Ashton Shepherd - This Is America

Ashton Shepherd came out in 2009 with songs that bridged the gap between old school and new school and while she never broke-out, the Alabama-native has consistently delivered over the course of a pair of albums. Does she deliver the goods on her new, independently released third album?

If Ashton Shepherd's first two albums (Sounds So Good  and Where Country Grows) proved anything, it's that she had a knack for writing and creating Traditional Country music. She continues to prove as much on This Is America, the third album -- and first indie release -- from the Alabama native.

The title track was sent to radio earlier this year and found the singer singing of her pride in the USA and despite hard times, she's still proud and will not lose heart in her homeland. "Andy" finds her using The Andy Griffith Show's idyllic small time life as the template for the way American families and lives are going -- down the tubes and away from tradition. The song is loaded in steel guitars and fiddles and sounds great and the message seems to be good but it doesn't seem to be the right song to open an album, something that should've went to "Spinnin'," an uptempo track about a couple who works to find time to get away from life's pressures. This is the kind of song that scored Ashton Shepherd her big label record deal back in the day.

There are some strong traditional ballads on the album including "For Boosin'," "Final," "The Next time I Cross Your Mind." These songs sound like they could've come from any Post-Patsy Cline era in Country Music and that gives the new tunes a timeless feel. There's a little Patty Loveless vibe to some of the songs as well, particularly on "Drinkin' Cap." The best song on the album is the tribute to George Jones and Tammy Wynette, a remake of their classic "Golden Ring" with golden-voiced Daryle Singletary.

I wanted to love This Is America but unfortunatly, it merely comes off as solid album. There's nothing here that stands out and that's particularly because while she's a strong songwriter she isnt' so strong as to not Pull from the deep well of traditional country music catalogs of the writers in Nashville or even co-writing with some of those writers for this album (as she should have).

Also, in an era of loud thumpin' bass, compressed drums and processed guitars dominating mainstream Country Music, Ashton Shepherd simply feels out of place.That doesn't mean This Is America isn't a record without it's charms as Shepherd sings in that natural Alabama twang and in a style that just screams "authentic" Country Music. Traditionalists should rejoice as Shepherd proves there are still artists making the music, even if the mainstream won't play many of these songs and even if the album feels more like a missed opportunity than one of the year's standout albums.

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