Ashley Monroe
Rosegold
Release Date: Apr 30, 2021
Genre(s): Country, Contemporary Country, Country-Pop
Record label: Mountainrose Sparrow
Music Critic Score
How the Music Critic Score works
Buy Rosegold from Amazon
Album Review: Rosegold by Ashley Monroe
Satisfactory, Based on 2 Critics
Based on rating 5.7/10
From her earliest singles in the mid-2000s, Ashley Monroe bent country music to her will. Whether she was singing about grief over her father's death, the complicated joy of motherhood, or just a simple crush, she took old, familiar sounds and gussied them up to express something particular and deeply personal. As a result, her music often feels as meaningful and as confessional as her lyrics.
Based on rating 5.5/10
Ashley Monroe is a twice Grammy nominated country artist (both solo and as a member of Pistol Annies), but on Rosegold she gives up a steady backbeat in favor of breakbeats and drops. Monroe is noted for her vocal prowess, and that no doubt carries over to Rosegold, but the migration from honky-tonk dancehall to bedroom pop to the nightclub floor yields a mixed bag of results. Part of the issue stems from working with six different producers across 10 tracks, most of whom are cited for their country music pedigrees.
'Rosegold'
is available now