Ashley Naylor Ashley Naylor's Four-Track Mind (Elephant Stone) Australian musician Ashley Naylor’s debut album “Ashley Naylor’s Four Track Mind” might be lo-fi but the music is so full, of rich melodies and strong vocals and lyrics, that it could never be considered flat or distorted. The former Even band member sets out with a definite Britpop sound as Naylor proves that in many cases, less is so very much more. Through a strong rhythm and some effects, “Resurrection Blues” offers up some light psychedelics as “Merry-Go-Round” bounces and sets the tone of Naylor’s minimalist sound. Steady but gentle piano helps make “Sooth Me With Your Song” into a poignant and memorable moment on the album. Meanwhile on “All Over Again,” Naylor builds from the bottom up, adding vibes and thick guitar riffs to the song. Loose and laidback, “I Made Up My Mind” does just as Naylor sings and takes its time as the song meanders through buzzing electric guitar, acoustic guitar and sliding vocals while the acoustic guitar and vocals of the smooth “Raking Up Leaves” and “Under Your Radar” come across sounding like long lost John Lennon tracks. Naylor also offers up some extra bits with the acoustic guitar instrumental “Pyjama Stars” and the strong closing track “Blackie’s Bell.” Simply understated, “Ashley Naylor’s Four Track Mind” is memorable with its endearing melodies and effective lyrics. Part Lennon, part Bob Dylan and part Neil Young, Naylor borrows from some of the greats while still making it his own. “Ashley Naylor’s Four Track Mind” may be his solo debut but it is one that will find itself continually in your stereo. A —Corinne

Ashley Naylor Ashley Naylor's Four-Track Mind (Elephant Stone) One can't say that Australian Ashley Naylor isn't clear with his intent, as Ashley Naylor's Four-Track Mind does have the rough and ready feeling of just that kind of recording, and he does pretty well with it, at that. Rather than simply trying to create overly perfect pop in a freeze-dried post-Beatles sense -- a plague that far too many people subscribe to as a cure rather than a disease -- Naylor, though he clearly has that jones, is out to let the ragged parts show through, in a way that any number of lo-fi acts would appreciate. Naylor's not out to push the bounds of music, though, and if one isn't inclined to hooky if stripped down guitar pop with gently mournful harmonies, then Four-Track Mind won't be of much interest. For those who are, though, the album's a sweet little treat, capturing elements ranging from pre-Ziggy Stardust Bowie to the Kinks' taut character portrayals to Chris Knox's wild and wired experiments. Naylor's reliance on acoustic guitar plus other instruments -- ragged keyboards on songs like "Merry-Go-Round," drowned piano on "Soothe Me with Your Song" -- actually gives the album an unexpectedly fragile edge that's quite becoming. Other high points include the ambling instrumental "Pyjama Stars," with a great contrast between major and minor key parts on the guitar, and the even more rambling "I Made Up My Mind," with a minimal lyric but with a great country/gospel beat and a series of extended, frazzled solos that Naylor should explore more of, as he's quite good with them. —Ned Raggett

Ashley Naylor Ashley Naylor's Four-Track Mind (Elephant Stone) Melbourne, Australia's native Ashley Naylor shows that Old West country folk music isn't just music for American artists like Patty Griffin, Buddy Miller, and Dwight Yoakum, but, rather, it has a place in Australia's music tapestry as well. Naylor who is best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist for the Australian rock group Even, during the mid-'90s, has gone solo with his debut album Four Track Mind, a collection of somber prairie tunes with a folk/rock groove and country twang reminiscent of John Prine, Steve Earl, and Kasey Chambers. Songs like "I Made Up My Mind" and "Nylon Licks" plod like Gram Parsons in their rustic country/folk composures. The instrument repetition keeps the momentum sedate and on an even keel in a haze of light rustles. The roaming reels of whistles and harmonica trails on "Raking Up Leaves," "Under Your Radar," and "Resurrection Blues" have a Neil Young like warmth. The music is not rushed but finely combed. "Merry-Go-Round" culls tambourine shakes along the folksy surf with a Kasey Chambers dabbing. There is a smoky screen fogging up the country folk shafts in the instrumental piece "Pyjama Stars." The movements rove with a spectral glide in the songs "Soothe Me With Your Song" and "National Expres." Naylor's vocals are gentle and protract a Jedd Hughes instinct for loosely held reins on the melody "Blackie's Bell." The music trots at an easygoing pace with a bluesy piano hull circumvented in a country folk ring. Ashley Naylor's album has the fixings of Americana music, just coming from an Australian folk artist. The music is tranquil and glides with a smoky film in the instrumental approach. At times the songs drag with a prairie like calmness, but the folksy turf is skillfully scythed and pared. Music that the world previously only identified with America has taken on a worldly identity with Ashley Naylor. Similar Albums: John Prine - Fair & Square Jedd Hughes - Transcontinental Kasey Chambers - Carnival —Susan Frances

Ashley Naylor Ashley Naylor's Four-Track Mind (Elephant Stone) Ashley Naylor fronts Australia's Even, a band that centers itself on an axis between seventies power-pop and Britpop, sixties style. Guitarist and singer Naylor has released a solo disc, which is a considerably more stripped down affair, with a light hand towards twiddling the knobs. What Naylor offers here is a rootsy American sound, one that strays into Neil Young territory ("Merry Go Round," which is an unusual blending of the acoustic Young with an infectious melody a la the early Hollies) but also goes quite bluesy at times ("Pyjama Stars," an acoustic guitar workout). Naylor, though, is best on this disc when plugged in. Check out "All Over Again," an edgy look back with an eye on undoing that manages to recall early Bowie. Or the lonely lament of the opener "Resurrection Blues," which nods to Dylan even as it edges into a bit of quiet psychedelia (which recurs in album-best "I Made up My Mind"). "Soothe Me with Your Song," an electric piano ballad overlaid with Naylor's echoed vocal, does just that. And so does the rest of Ashley Naylor's Four Track Mind. Nice work. —Michael Meade

Ashley Naylor Ashley Naylor's Four-Track Mind (Elephant Stone) This is Australian Ashley Naylor’s first solo album, a pretty pared down acoustic affair with a set of interesting songs. An initial moment of worry during the opening “Resurrection Blues” that Ashley Naylor had been to the Bob Dylan training academy and learned the rules did dissipate as the album progressed. Whilst the recording and arrangements mean that it isn’t going to stand out musically from the many other acoustic singer-songwriters you might come across, there’s nonetheless enough in the songs to strike a chord and make it worth a listen. Later tracks, in particular the gradual breakdown of the lyrically minimalist “I made up my mind” and the simple “Blackie’s Bell” are the stand out ones. —L M Pettinger

Ashley Naylor Ashley Naylor's Four-Track Mind (Elephant Stone) Ashley Naylor might not be a household name here but in his native Australia….well, ok, so there he isn’t a household name either but he has taken the wheel of the ship of his band Even through 4 full-length records and numerous eps and singles and gained praise from critics throughout the world. While Even rocks out more heartily in a Kinks/ Who vein on his solo record Mr. Naylor strikes a more subdued pose and breaks out his acoustic guitar. There’s a bevy of sheer winners on here like the strummed , hypnotic instrumental “Pyjama Stars” or the supremely melodic “Merry Go Round.” On “The National Express” he brings to mind ol’ Shakey himself , Neil Young with the acoustic guitar and harmonica while the minimal “Nylon Licks” (great song title !) he spouts off with “I’m taking my time cos’ I’ve made up my mind ….and I made up my mind cos’ I’m takin’ my time.” Well put, Mr. Naylor….and while Ashley might be thousands of miles from us, probably lounging on the beach at Byron Bay right about now, with FOUR TRACK MIND close to my side I’m transported to somewhere in west Texas or maybe southern Arizona. And they’re not bad places to be, especially while this is playing in the background. —Tim Hinely

High Bias

Ashley Naylor Ashley Naylor's Four-Track Mind (Elephant Stone) Ashley Naylor leads Australia’s power pop hope Even, a trio similar to fellow Aussie band You Am I, though leaning more towards the Big Star side of the influential equation. Four-Track Mind, as might be surmised from the title, is a collection of tracks Naylor recorded on his own. While it’s unclear whether these are songs intended for Even that didn’t get fleshed out or a batch the singer/guitarist was saving for himself, what is clear is that Naylor is a first-rate pop/rock tunesmith. “All Over Again,” “Merry-Go-Round” and the relatively epic “I Made Up My Mind” present a talent ever-mindful of catchy melody, but not above incorporating folk and country influences. The production is raw, as the title indicates, but hardly rough. If Even is out of business (and I hope that’s not the case), it’s good to know Naylor will still have his pop savant shingle hanging out. —Michael Toland

Hot Stof

Ashley Naylor Ashley Naylor's Four-Track Mind (Elephant Stone) Australia is far away. Maybe that's the reason why, up till now, I haven't written about an Australian band? Nonsense of course, because with the internet Australia is just as far as Venlo (and that's very close for me). But no band from this distant continent has made it to Hot Stof. And there should be enough indie bands down under. So, it's probably my mistake. Ashley Naylor is the first. He is the singer, guitarist and major composer of the band Even from Melbourne. Even exists over ten years and this threesome has already released several CDs. At the moment they're working on their new record. Meanwhile frontman Ashley Taylor has made a solo record with the title "Four Track Mind". This mainly acoustic record seems to have been released in Australia in 2004, according to Even's website. The American release on Elephant Records is however just two weeks old. If you order this cd now, you'll receive a free best-of cd by Even. To butter you up, you can download two songs. First the beautiful but too short song "Resurrection Blues" and the more than five minutes long "I Made Up My Mind".