A book of introspective lyrics which stand alone but take on new life when matched with his incendiary music.
Chicago, by way of Cirencester and Surrey, musician Dave Ashdown started thinking about a book of his lyrics when a support slot at SXSW in 2019 unexpectedly turned into an hour and a half solo show. ‘Lyrics From The Heartland’ champions songwriting as a means to dreaming and healing. All proceeds from it will benefit the Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples, which celebrates self-determination and the sovereignty of Native nations.
In the foreword he says that he is “closer to the lyrics than the songs.” He is interested in how the meaning of his words has shifted over time and has found the process of reassessing the words and reinterpreting the feelings cathartic.
The question with any book of lyrics is, “do they stand up without the music playing the background?” And here the answer is yes, they do. Ashdown’s writing style lends itself to reading his lyrics as poems. ‘Nativize’ from his 2022 album ‘The Dirt Tastes Good Right Here’ appears simple on the page. Read it a few times however and the message seeps out of the words. “This Red, White & Blue, we bled for you too. Spirit never died, time to Nativize.”
As someone unfamiliar with his music as dASHDOWN I deliberately didn’t listen to the music until after I had read the words. In the context of the song they have a quite different feel, the thoughtful words taking on an anger through his raspy voice and high energy indie rock sound, not a million miles from Crazy Horse at their most electric. The more acoustic ‘Wishin’ On You’ from 2020’s EP ‘Wish’ remains introspective, on the page and in the music.
Some of the lyrics here appear aren’t in songs available on his Bandcamp page, so they can only be read as poems. ‘Shock To the System’ which I interpret as a rumination on his former life as head of Artist Relations for Washburn Guitars is one such.
If you don’t know dASHDOWN’s work, or even if you do, this is a book that can be read as poetry, without needing the context of the music. But it may well make you a fan of that music as it has with me.
Also just released is the latest dASHDOWN EP, ‘jAGUAR.’ Described as an “4-song,11-minute rock meditation” all the songs appear in ‘Lyrics From The Heartland.’ Musically Ashdown says it is “a whole less Americana than my usual efforts, no acoustic guitars in fact, but it’s certainly American rock with twangs of the Heartland.” Despite that assertion it does fit right into the broad church of Americana. Lyrically ‘Rock & Roll Healer’ is on message with many of the themes from his book: “You’re a healer, bustin’ loose like an 18-wheeler … Set your intentions and hit the road …” Rich Ashdown’s superbly dirty electric guitar sound is up there with Neil Young’s 90s peak, on ‘Holograms,’ where his epic solo complements his brother’s fractured yowl of a singing voice perfectly. This is music that sits in the mid ground between The Clash and the Long Ryders, and it’s hard to think of a higher compliment than that.
As mentioned above this is one of the highlights of ‘Lyrics From The Heartland‘
