Rosegold Ashley Monroe

• 1Siren03:32
• 2Silk03:22
• 3Gold03:18
• 4See02:26
• 5Drive02:48
• 6Flying02:50
• 7Groove02:37
• 8Til It Breaks03:21
• 9I Mean It03:25
• 10The New Me03:32
• Total Runtime31:11

Info for Rosegold

It’s not uncommon for seasoned artists to explore new sounds, but for Ashley Monroe, that exploration meant a complete dismantling of what she’d so far accomplished on her first four solo albums and three collaborative albums with the trio Pistol Annies. Her fifth album doesn’t eschew Monroe’s country roots so much as it looks right past them, allowing Monroe to incorporate the full spectrum of her musical influences, which include hip-hop and R&B, in ways she never has before. “I hope that people feel joy from it,” Monroe says of the album. “I hope that it takes them out of anything that they might be feeling other than joy and put them in a place of happiness.”

A reliable traditionalist with a penchant for bittersweet songs of heartbreak and loss, Ashley Monroe pulled a complete 180 for her spectacular new album, Rosegold, riding the joyful emotional wave that followed the birth of her son to create her most ecstatic, blissed-out collection yet.

Written and recorded over the past two years, the record finds the Grammy -nominated Nashville star pushing her sound in bold new directions, drawing on everything from Kanye West and Kid Cudi to Beck and The Beach Boys as she layers lush vocal harmonies atop dreamy, synthesized soundscapes and sensual, intoxicating beats.

“I’ve always been good at writing sad songs because I’ve experienced a lot of sadness in my life,” Monroe reflects. “When my son was born, though, it was like some sort of innocence got plugged back into my heart. I’d never really felt that kind of joy before, and I wanted to find a way to make it last.”

Ashley Monroe

Ashley Monroe
At the age of 12, Ashley Monroe was entertaining audiences nightly at a country music revue in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. The Knoxville, Tenn., native had found a home onstage. Her vocal styling reflected her love of influences including Patsy Cline and fellow East Tennessean Dolly Parton. Thrown in for good measure, Ashley also loved listening to Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Eagles, her dad's favorites. She grew up singing in church and studied Classical piano. However, it took winning a talent competition at the age of 11 to ignite her passion for a career in the music business.

Life in East Tennessee afforded many opportunities to perfect her craft until tragedy struck in 2000 when her father died suddenly. Two years later, still working through her grief, Ashley convinced her mother to move with her to Nashville so she could wholeheartedly pursue her career. Soon, Ashley found herself singing in bars on Nashville's famed Lower Broadway where she forged connections in the music business. But most of all, she was learning to write songs. A year after moving to Nashville, she secured a publishing deal with Wrensong Music, which led to a management deal and eventually a Sony Nashville recording contract at the age of 17.

The Nashville newcomer's songwriting education paid off as her songs were recorded by Carrie Underwood ("Flat on the Floor") and Norah Jones ("It's Not You It's Me"). Her own recordings include the singles "Satisfied" and "I Don't Want To," the latter featuring Ronnie Dunn. In 2011 Ashley formed the Pistol Annies with Miranda Lambert and Angaleena Presley. Her 2013 solo album, Like A Rose, featured singles including the title cut and "Weed Instead Of Roses."

Ashley has played the Grand Ole Opry stage numerous times, mostly solo, but sometimes with friend and Opry member Vince Gill, who produced Like A Rose. She also took the stage with the Pistol Annies to sing Loretta Lynn's "Fist City" as part of Lynn's 50th anniversary as an Opry member.

This album contains no booklet.