KASSI ASHTON - Made From The Dirt- MCA Nashville/Interscope Records

Flowing the foundational path constructed by her breakthrough single “Drive You Outta My Mind” and her current hot riser “Called Crazy,” Kassi Ashton has consistently moved the dial of intrigue toward the release of her autobiographical, debut album Made From The Dirt (out now) with transparent diary pages turned to song; “The Straw,” “Son Of A Gun,” and “I Don’t Wanna Dance.”

With millions of streams and an ACM nomination for New Female Artist of the Year already to her credit, correlating with the release of the album she now places the spotlight focus on its title track.

Co-written by Kassi, Luke Laird, and Oscar Charles, the sultry flow of the melodic groove wraps around the familiar moodiness of Ashton’s overall vibe and aura, challenging genre lines and blurring them together as she walks modern country tilts into an airy throwback pop essence that allows the distinctiveness of her vocal and the grit of the lyrics to take center stage.

Trailing her upbringing in the shadows of the Missouri hills, the opening verse map dots her escape from the mundane, “spreading my wings like shotgun bb’s,” flying away from a place situated somewhere between the broke and the fix it.

Outlining then her personality traits, the tough exterior crafted by design from where she was raised, the second half of the song poetically checkmarks her tenacity to keep going forward in the face of impending storms while the chorus stamps an emphatic exclamation point on who she is at her very core:

“If you see me blazing trails instead of taking the highway

Leaning into love even when it hurts

I never fit the mold, so I did it my way

I may be fighting but I didn’t swing first

So if I’m pushing to make room

Shooting the moon, putting in the work

It’s cause I was made from the dirt

Came up from the ground

Born to bloom when I get knocked down

I get knocked down”

There are two types of songs for a new artist to gravitate toward releasing. There are those which strike a strong heart connection with the listener and then there are those that become a bold introduction to who you are outside of the limelight.

With a gentle fist pump inducing an anthem like spirit, Kassi Ashton has continually walked the line of both with each next release, including with “Made From The Dirt,” using the journaled words of her own diary to land connection with those rebel rousing softly guided souls who walk the balance beam of personality akin to her own.

(Review Written By: Jeffrey Kurtis)