Ashley Sofia To Release Sophomore Album 'Shades of Blue'

Folk-rock singer-songwriter Ashley Sofia grew up in the heart of the Adirondack Mountains, where her father - a former merchant marine - taught her the art of storytelling and folk songs on the same guitar he traveled the world with. Throughout her 20s, Sofia ventured across the United States, as well, writing the songs that would become Shades of Blue, her sophomore album set to be released on September 6. Wide Open Country premiered the first single, " Make You Love Me Too," a neo-western tale of infatuation written for the feature-length film Goodland.

Shades of Blue is Sofia's uncompromising take on both the struggles and victories that connect us all. The album was recorded in Nashville, where she currently calls home. Sofia co-produced Shades of Blue, along with Kenny Baumann, and she holds the sole songwriting credit on every track, making it a singular vision of things she has felt and seen while navigating her 20s. It's accentuated by a 1970s-inspired sound, complete with organ and sitar, along with unmistakably rich vocals.

The album kicks off with "Slowing Down," replete with a lush string arrangement, the tried-and-true love song extols the small treasures of life. "Wasted Time" and "Blue Lights" express sentiments concerning time spent on the road, and a life lived adapting to circumstances that consistently change. "Tangerine and Blue" and "Blue Jeans and Blue Eyes" explore momentary and long-lasting romantic situations and how the effects of both can be surprising. "Battlewounds" looks at the way that suffering unites us because we're all a little bit broken. "That Girl is a Rainbow" is a rollicking tale about anybody who's a genuinely good soul being taken for granted.

Haunting and desolate, enhanced by a mesmerizing sitar, "It Was Only A Dream" feels like it could have been taken directly from a desert soundtrack. "Winter Prayer" is a tribute to loved ones, and the ways they can still show up long after they're gone. "Adirondack Dreams," an ode to Sofia's home, encapsulates homesickness, of missing all that's shaped her. For Sofia, it's evident that it was landscape as much as it was the people.

Sonically and thematically, "Looking For America" might have been taken from Laurel Canyon's heyday, but the song speaks directly to today's political climate. "Keep Moving On" is an anthem of perseverance, boiling down hard-learned life lessons into three powerful minutes.

Sofia released her debut record, Love and Fury, in 2014, with critical acclaim heralding her as the "21st-century reincarnation of the Laurel Canyon folk-rock sound." After the success of Love and Fury, Sofia ventured outside the Blue Line of the Adirondack Park and began a new chapter in Nashville, where she still lives and makes music.