ASHTON LANE - The In Between

The UK Country scene has developed its own brand in recent years, led by the likes of The Shires and Ward Thomas. It’s good to see Scottish acts getting recognised too. Glasgow based ASHTON LANE, who took their name from the city’s West End entertainment district, went right to No. 1 in the Official UK Country Album Chart with the release of their new album, “The In Between” (OC Records), holding onto the position for a second week.
Esther & Tim O’Connor, who make up the duo have released five previous albums (and another under Esther’s name), but this album raises their profile.
Much of the background to the album can be traced to the duo’s online “Kitchen Sessions” which has 8.7k subscribers. Many of the songs were written alongside fans, including the lead single, “Marilyn Curls”, which is based on the story of Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be publicly executed in Britain.  It offers quite a different sound for them. It’s quite haunting and bluesy.
The title track, which sits nicely half way through the album, is a lovely simple ballad, which really highlights Esther’s pure vocals.
The album kicks off with the bright & breezy “By The Field”, and followed by the mid/up tempo “People In The Valley”, which really caught my attention on my first listen.
I really liked the driving “Growing Up Together”, which has quite a Rickie Lee Jones influence to it (albeit with a less scratchy vocal style).
Esther proves she can perform a mean ballad too, shown to best effect on the haunting “Primrose Hill”, which also offers some really neat harmonies. “Desert Sky” which closes the album has many of the same attributes.  “Under The Wonder” is another which excels in their harmonies.
“I’ll Pray” is another which has a really haunting sound to it. It conjures up images of an old church, without sounding like a gospel number. For me, another of the album’s highlights.
Over time, Ashton Lane have developed a sound that is theirs. In a world where so many groups and singers all sound the same, here is an album, which sounds original. That’s because it is!