Lonelady’s debut album, Nerve Up, reaches into the depths of80’s pop to bring yet another nostalgic album to the masses. The retro dance beats, complete with hand clap sounds and triangles set the stage for her syncopated voice. Songs such as the title track, ‘Never up’, make Ashton sound exactly like a modern day Prince. ‘Immaterial’ is heavily inspired by Madonna’s hit Material Girl, with a pared down sound of guitars instead of the synth heavy version of the past.
By looking at Ashtons androgynous image and her biography,that reads like a identity politics paper, she appears to be wanting to be transgressive and edgy. In the1980’s, both Prince and Madonna were breaking the boundaries of sexuality and identity through their music and overall style. Ironically, Lonelady’s musical style is anything but what she seeks to do. By replicating the sounds of the past with synth based dance rhythms and syncopated voices, she is only copying past ideas of edgy or transgression. Then this makes her a bit of a waste of time…
Her voice is lovely and her music will be welcomed on any dance floor. She adds a fresh coat of paint to 80’s pop but doesn’t do much else.
