Ashe, Funeral → Song Review

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½

Stellar vocals, songwriting, and production make “Funeral” a surefire winner for pop singer-songwriter Ashe.

“You’ll be my Tuesday night and my Sunday drive / And the last speech at my funeral.” Those are some impactful lyrics, Ashe. The entirety of “Funeral” is impactful.  The brilliant single is the 11^th and final track from the pop singer-songwriter’s fourth studio album, The Girl Of Your Dreams.  Ashe, Noah Conrad, and Annika Bennett composed “Funeral.” Conrad produced it and performed on multiple instruments.

“Funeral” shines from the start.  It begins as a piano ballad, initially. Ashe delivers a superb vocal performance. She sings expressively, with a great tone. She also sounds authentic and sincere.  The songwriting is memorable and thoughtful.  The track is melodious from the get-go. “Caught me in the middle of a real landslide,” she sings in the first verse, and adds, “I could see the softness in your big brown eyes / Felt safe for the very first time.” Aww, the feels! The chorus is the crème de la crème:

“I met the beginning and the end

My forever, now and then

You’ll be my Tuesday night and my Sunday drive

And the wedding, the wedding

Now somehow, every normal day’s unusual

Every storm and rain is beautiful

You’ll be my Tuesday night and my Sunday drive

And the last speech at my funeral.”

The second verse adds more instrumentation. I love the rhythmic nature of the melody here (“In the tornado warnings, you’re up ’til the morning is bright / Holding me tight”). The second chorus, likewise, is bigger and more robust. Following the second chorus, the production expands to its biggest and fullest, including the divine brass sounds (trumpet and flugelhorn). Ashe’s vocals are divine during the bridge. They really pop against the ornate arrangement (“Tell ’em I haven’t a regret about you / The best thing I ever did was loving you, loving you”). I love how she brings things down briefly at the beginning of the final chorus, only to build it back up. “Funeral” begins as a piano ballad and gradually expands into something far grander.  Ashe puts her foot into this performance, delivering a high-flying, top-notch pop song.  Stellar vocals, songwriting, and production make this a surefire winner.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½