What is cool? What is cool to you might not be cool to me and vice versa? Cool is a style thing, you see, and Jen Ash is nothing if not cool with her album “Crush On You” providing the proof that the middle shelf of the refrigerator is the place to be.
She pulls inspiration from the retro nineties but, unlike her competitors in mining the musical world of yesterday, Jen Ash has a voice that embodies the spirit of those times. Those looped urban beats have the air of familiarity but there’s no harm in being reverential. Likewise, the lyrics draw on time honoured sentiments for direction yet, once again, I am drawn to her voice as it is the means by which mere words become real and, while she maintains a leisurely pace throughout this album, that’s kind of the point. These songs are meant to be listened to rather than just being the soundtrack to something else. It’s an emotional connection thing.
If Santa brings me a Cadillac Escalade for Christmas, “Crush on You” is going to be the first album I play on that 36 speaker audio system. Life is for looking, and sounding, good.
Best song: The FM radio tuned “Crush on You.”
Verdict: Retro cool.