Welcome to Ashley – Beyond the Pale review

It’s Summer, it’s hot, sweaty and stinky.  Time to swim, to go down to the  beach, grab an ice cold beer, get drunk while some loud band plays on a crappy wooden stage by the beach, while the sun licks the horizon.  Nothing’s a better fit for a summary concert than Welcome to Ashley, playing music from their debut album ‘Beyond the Pale’.  Their music is great for such a gig, to enjoy a lovely summer evening on the beach with some friends!

They claim they are an Indie rock and post punk band, but I don’t really give a flying fart what genre they are, because they are simply great and can really rock!  Unlike other new bands, who constantly struggle and over do it with endless different arrangements and extreme guitar solos, chicago’s Welcome to Ashley keep it sweet and simple.  They are loud yet smooth, and can rock the hell out of you like Mick Jagger does on a high!

Their music is influenced from 70′s and 80′s rock music (Rolling Stones, The Smiths) with some shaves of punk, like The Cure in their early years.  They are a breath of fresh air for today’s polluted music industry.  Let’s face it, aren’t all real music lovers a little bit sick of Justin Bieber and Britney Spears?

Coley Kennedy’s lyrics are honest and blunt, sick and tired from the hurting feelings love leaves behind.  Though a touch of craziness in them, makes the lyrics not too serious and yet sometimes funny to listen to.  With song titles and catch phrases like “what a day it was for dying”, “I was drowning, I was sinking fast, I could have used you, But I could not ask” and “Monday morning means five more days of me and you and Friday always brings me down”, Beyond the Pale album is more than a complete album.

Welcome to Ashley stormed around on a high with their Beyond the Pale album, so stick around since I am sure they will take us even higher in the near future!