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Ashton Allen
Wellspring
Rock Salt Songwriters/Barnes and Noble
Alliterative name aside, Ashton Allen is a sonorous new talent who has all the touch of a young Paul Simon and all the indie folk finesse of Kings Of Convenience. Wellspring, which is Allen's sophomore effort (and the follow up to 2005's Dewdrops) is a luxurious collection of smooth and understated pop. "Something In The Sound" is lush and melodic; "Now That It's Over" is heartbreakingly wistful; "Greenville" manages a hushed gallop and the understated, devastatingly beautiful "Purpose" quietly suggests "you don't have to hide." Wellspring is a very good record and one that promises a future output that has the potential to stun. Allen is a deft and affecting songwriter who knows how to make still moments feel like emotional explosions (see "Sad Faced Girl" or "Rain") and that's not easy to do. Like Nick Drake or Elliott Smith, Allen's got the laconic delivery of his forbearers down cold, however, through the course of the album he plays it a bit too safe and relies on the same melancholic arrangements without deviating. A "Cecilia"-like excursion would have been more than welcome, but that's a minor complaint of a rather major talent.
—Alex Green
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