slice of lime

Tracklist

Siren
Emilia Rose
Who? ★
Fallen
High & Dry
Cold Spring
Secrets
Orange
Now I Say
Waiting To Meet You…
Leech
★ – favorites

‘Siren’

Like its predecessor, the album starts off with something instrumental. The first song on the album is ambient and warm like yellow lights from a lamp and the flicker of neon against wet pavement. The crisp guitars and lovely bluesy crones are spacious and curious. Sloth-like and meandering in its wonder, the song aptly draws you in with distant guitar riffs and the siren’s call from shore.

‘Emilia Rose’

First written nearly 9 years ago and rewritten into the final version we hear today, it reads like a exploration across Ash Redhorse’s discography as a whole. A peek of surf rock inspiration comes forward. Then its 60s and western like a California sunset. Soft like suede, the distant intro to the vocals begins in ‘Emilia Rose’. The drums sit back in the second track, a rattlesnake buzz along the chorus. The mix of inspirations makes the song feel like the cusp between a saloon and a surf shop, and I trust Ash Redhorse & The Midnight Suns to pull it off this well.

‘Who?’

Track three feels haunting while its guitar wafts upward like embers, trilling and thrumming. The change of pace throughout the song is nice, picking up and feeling more erratic towards the end. The last minute or so of song sealed it as the favorite track off the album for me. The layered vocals in the background are like a spirit in the woods circling your firepit. ‘Who?’ is a showcase of the beautiful storytelling skills Ash Redhorse & The Midnight Suns has, and this album taps into that skill. Overall, the song has a memorable aftertaste and leans a bit folky.

‘Fallen’

‘Fallen’ feels complicated in the way that nostalgia can be. The guitar circles above like a buzzard on a blistering sky. The beat throughout feels like a stubborn gait, steady and slow and sure. It doesn’t chase you down but follows loyally and patiently. The layers of guitar stand out gorgeously, it fills out the song and adds spatial interest and drive. Such moments of guitar truly capture the album in its best light. ‘Fallen’ feels some early Eagles inspiration with their syrupy guitar tones.

‘High & Dry’

The combo of sharp drums and vocals sets itself as the trademark sound of this album. The chorus is full and bright, like a meadow of sunflowers, and I yearn for a fiddle to frolic amongst the instrumentation. The song is free, lost, and summery. It feels like the montage after a break-up, the moment heartbreak pivots into someone thriving. Track 5 seems to mark a passing moment of grief.

‘Cold Spring’

Featuring a sax start that is snappy and changes the tone up ‘Cold Spring’ is a bright rebound from some of the heavier ambience in previous songs. It hovers in the back, dusky and tucked in a corner. It feels familiar and homey. The song is filled with ear candy, rainfall and thunder transitioning into a second half.

‘Secrets’

This song swings back into the Americana acoustic guitar sound that I associate the most with Ash Redhorse. I can picture someone smoking a cigar under a bushy mustache to this song somewhere, thumping boots on a worn wooden porch. The bass is a standout in ‘Secrets’, playing the root and blending richly with the guitar. The layout of the song is wide and spacious, this sound like the secret hand that Ash Redhorse & The Midnight Suns pulls out to mark ‘game over’ for anything else. They excel in filling out this sound, the warmth and openness complemented alongside the lyrics. Aptly named, the song feels like sharing a secret with someone. ‘Secrets’ bares your soul.

‘Orange’

The guitar, separated and scratchy, feels like early the 1975 in moments. A fairly modern sound for Ash Redhorse & The Midnight Suns, their take on it is bright and citrusy. ‘Orange’ feels like swinging in a hammock, drinking Shirley temples, and having the ocean waves lap gently at your feet. It’s ambient and echoey, the last third of the song picking up into a more upbeat surf rock sound that really marks the energy for the song. They are in no rush with the albums in Songs of Siren, they bask in the openness they create.

‘Now I Say’

There is a beautiful transition between ‘Orange’ and ‘Now I Say’ that I played through several times, and I recommend you do as well. The change between the two, the sticky sweetness from ‘Orange’ and the brisk energy of ‘Now I Say’ complementing each other well. It feels like heat on one side of your face as you lean your head slightly out of the car window. The swoop of the bass creates a fun melody to follow through the song, and certainly keeps the late album lull from setting in.

‘Waiting To Meet You…”

The guitar solo that plays through the last part of this track is one of my favorite moments on the album. Full and warm, Ash Redhorse & The Midnight Suns are using their potential to its fullest and settling into a space of confidence within self. Layered bass fleshes out the song with a crashing lull. It is liminal in the way it manages to be sunny and tense.

‘Leech’

After taking us along for a storyline of grief and vulnerability, we end on ‘Leech’. It’s full of ambient guitar and sharp drums. The last track is one that bares its weakness and shows clarity for an album that bares itself with a bashful openness. Touching on the more ambient sounds they lean into, it is expansive like a desert sky.