(Photo manipulation by Nathan Rubin)
Encapsulating heartbreak, Ashley Kutcher’s debut album, “House On The Water,” showcases the singer’s rough yet hopeful start in the pop music industry. She released the album on Jan. 26.
Since TikTok’s rise to popularity in 2018, the app has served as a landscape of opportunity for aspiring musicians, allowing short clips of their songs to reach a wider audience. One of these artists is Kutcher, a nursing student at Towson University (Md.) who gained popularity on social media after her song “Love You From a Distance” (2020) went viral. Since then, Kutcher has released two EPs, “One Eighty” (2021) and “Survive My Own Mind” (2022). She has also performed her first headline shows in Los Angeles and New York in March 2022.
Kutcher is currently signed to The Darkroom, a record label known for starting Billie Eilish’s career. She has built up the release of her debut album over the past six months, dropping the first single, “Boy From Carolina,” in June 2023. Like her previous releases, Kutcher shared short clips of songs from her album on TikTok, building anticipation for the album’s Jan. 26 release date.
Known for her emotional lyrics about heartbreak and romance, Kutcher delivers a similar product to her past EPs with “House On The Water.” “Boy From Carolina” opens the album, emanating her hopeless romantic personality. In the bridge she sings, “I know he’s lying but he’s still coming home / And I don’t wanna sleep here all alone / I know he’s lying but I bet you he already knows / That I’m not gonna be the one to let this go.”
Kutcher sings about feeling hopeless in a relationship, unable to leave or let go. While she sings earnestly, the lyrics can feel flat or repetitive compared to the rest of the album. With little diversity, Kutcher’s tracklist tires out the listener.
Immediately following on the tracklist is “Silent,” which is in the same key as the first song and follows a similar chord progression, creating a confusing transition. Kutcher once again tells the story of a destructive yet addicting relationship, singing, “Combination of this late intoxication? / And these thoughts won’t quit / Or is it worth the / Conversation of a hopeless situation?” It feels as though Kutcher is singing only to a specific, heartbroken audience. While heartbreak albums are not a new or unsuccessful concept, the repetitiveness of “House On The Water” takes away from the album’s message and relistening potential.
However, “Girl In The Mirror” is a standout track. Kutcher is self-reflective on this song, describing her struggles with getting in her own head and her inability to escape herself. She sings, “She hates every single song I’d write / Mistakes, she’s tallying ‘em up / No shame in saying I do nothing right / No way I could ever be enough.”
Unlike the other tracks, “Girl In The Mirror” offers a fresh view of Kutcher’s songwriting abilities. The song feels like a sincere expression of an everyday struggle of being too hard on oneself, which allows the listener to relate to Kutcher on a deeper level. While the song still delivers a sad tone akin to the rest of the album, the new message is refreshing.
However the instrumentals do Kutcher no favors in terms of keeping the album exciting. Acoustic guitar accompanies songs such as the title track, “House On The Water,” and “Half Gone.” While the instruments enhance the music’s melancholy tone, the overall chord progressions start to sound generic and predictable. However, Kutcher’s voice is the highlight of each song, carrying the backing tracks. With her soulful, almost country-esque voice, she adds a unique quality to each pop beat.
Kutcher’s debut album is an honest and hopeful first attempt at branching outside of TikTok popularity into the larger world of pop music. Nevertheless, she is breaking into the scene at a competitive and difficult time, with the rise of other young female artists in the pop scene, such as Sabrina Carpenter and Tate McRae.
With little diversity in the tone and message of the songs, Kutcher produces a generic sound, but perhaps she is satisfied by delivering to her pre-existing and loyal fanbase. Unlike many other social media stars who broke into mainstream media and neglected their influencer past, Kutcher continues to use her platform and the following she gained on TikTok to cultivate and promote her music. Kutcher showcases a modern pathway to stardom that is only becoming more popular.
Using social media to gain fame is a two-way street. While it grants talented people opportunities that may have been previously impossible, the door to stardom also opens the door for unqualified people. It is unsettling when people garner enough attention to work on massive projects without putting in much effort to their craft. Although an album is a major accomplishment, it is important to recognize that a few 60-second videos are all that it takes to put some of today’s stars in the spotlight.
