Much has been written of the wildfires ravaging the American West, but when Anna Ash’s quiet quiver sings about it, something seems to sink in deeper. “I can’t help but pray / That when we see those flames / You’ll look at me and / We won’t hesitate / To get out of here fast,” she sings, capturing the thinning line between calm resignation and deep anxiety on “Fire Season,” a tune off her latest record, Sleeper.
As she grapples with the idea of the last straw, the catalyst for vacating a home and knowing when it’s finally time, she maintains a veil of softness. Much of Sleeper finds Ash somewhere in this in-between, unsure of where she’ll land, watching the time pass her by. The way her voice catches and quakes lends a fragility to these feelings of uncertainty, like maybe they won’t last and she’ll find her way out of them soon. In that sense, Sleeper is a hopeful collection of songs about resilience.
Though Ash tends toward a sparser sonic terrain, some of Sleeper’s best moments are the busiest ones. “Dress Rehearsal,” with its gentle harmonies and punctuated guitar strums, turns the messiness of a fleeting affair into a groove. “Sgt. Pepper” recounts memories of frightening brushes with death and danger with equal parts nostalgia and disbelief. Rich harmonies and hearty keys fill out the faith-seeking “What the Light Can Do.” And the cosmic swell of guitars and strings meets a steady beat to create the swaggering groove of “Favorite Part.”
“Who says LA can’t make you tender?” she sings in shades of Natalie Merchant or Jewel on the gauzy, sun-drenched beauty “Seasonal.” Looking through Ash’s lens, California becomes a kind of mystic fever dream, fading in and out of view. Her songs capture a place in flux, in all its beauty and despair.
