Blowing in from the middle of Illinois, this energetic male-female duo immediately demands your attention with the first notes of “Lights Out,” the leadoff track on Wildfire. By mixing pop arrangements with rock sensibilities and evergreen melodies, musician Aaron Wood and vocalist Asia Woodward have made an album perfect for playing during a long windows-down drive through mid-America. The fact that Ashland has opened for everyone from We the Kings to Switchfoot and Firehouse speaks to the band’s diversity and broad appeal. From heavy rockers (“Turn It Up,” “Closer”) to a surprising number of power ballads (“No Trouble,” “No Good,” “Why”), the only thing missing from Wildfire is Ashland’s better-than-the-original version of Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood.”
