This is a collection of love songs. Or rather, it is a collection of songs that examine love and all of its wonders and horrors. Ashley veers from gothic blues to old school alt. rock and then back toward a mannered, impassioned form of americana. Perhaps all of those mesh together. In any case, the music is secondary to Ashley's voice (both physical and lyrical), which stands front and center here.

Naomi Ashley Love Bug (self-released)

Released on Valentine's Day (naturally), this set wanders along in the same spirit as Magnetic Fields 69 Love Songs, which deconstructed love's mystical and physical power in an attempt to approach the subject from all sides. Ashley, similarly, has happy songs, breakup songs and songs about how much it can suck to be in love. She manages to complete her overview of the subject in a mere 10 songs, but her fulsome imagination manages to do a solid job of shining a light on the complication known as love.

And boy, does it sound amazing. Ashley's voice has an impressive range, and she's able to sustain her spell whether singing soft or loud--or in upper or lower registers. Equally arresting when accompanied by a bare-bones band or a nearly orchestral-sounding setting, Ashley knows precisely how to sell each song.

I often jealously read the notes of foreign albums that credit arts subsidies for defraying recording costs. I always wonder why can't we do that in the U.S. And that's why I want to give a shout out to Chicago, which provided a grant to Ashley from its Individual Artists Program. I'd say everyone got their money's worth. Ashley's love set is wholly engrossing.

Jon Worley