Tommy Ashby - “Weigh Me Down”
Tommy Ashby writes songs that are impossible to ignore and, therefore, we can never resist featuring his work on the blog. And though we love his more upbeat and hopeful tunes, there is something absolutely tremendous when he offers listeners a glimpse into the darker side of his craft. We first witnessed this with “When Love Goes Dark,” and today he’s back with “Weigh Me Down,” a single from the deluxe version of his LP, Lamplighter.
From the moment we pressed play, we knew that this song was special. It has a sort of KALEO vibe to it, particularly “Broken Bones.” “Weigh Me Down” begins with a distinctly lo-fi beat that drives beneath some glorious, over-driven, soulful, and bluesy vocals. After only thirty seconds, this is already our favorite song of Ashby’s. Our ears are soon greeted by additional elements with the same retro effect as the beat. An organ drones in the distance, accentuating the carefully placed backing vocals, comprised primarily of “ooohs,” which, as far as we’re concerned, are not used nearly enough by modern songwriters.
By the time we reach the second verse, we are joined by some electric guitar, deliciously infused with some vintage dirt. If we didn’t know any better, we’d say that this was some long lost blues recording from the deep south, which makes sense, given that, as a kid, Ashby played in his father’s blues band, adding “They would sneak me into the pubs and bars through a side door just before the gig started and once we started playing no-one seemed to mind. We played Muddy Waters, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGee, Robert Johnson, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, so much great music that I would never have heard if not for them” (Ashby).
This classic blues influence completely radiates throughout “Weigh Me Down” and is a vast sonic departure from the other standout songs on the record, like “Not That Far To Go” and “Lifeline.” Ashby continues to prove himself as an amazing songwriter and given that we’ve already featured half the songs from Lamplighter on the blog, we can say, without hesitation, that Ashby is one of the most dynamic artists out there.
-TM