The Malaysian-Bornean artist based between London and Cambridge takes us on his time capsule with his alt-pop debut album, young adult fiction. This diary entry is for every emotionally constipated twenty-something trying to make peace with a youth who never quite fit the mold.
Opening with the dreamy “autumn city,” the record is like the start of an indie coming-of-age film. Sparkling keys float over steady beats while a_shes’ tender voice tiptoes around the lyrics, with a sense of lost wonder in a new city and a new phase of life. On the standout single, produced by London-based Palestinian artist Imad Salhi, “movies & music,” he laments lost time and teenage years shaped more by other people’s stories than his own. In this line, “I’m 18 until I’m 29,” a_shes speaks directly to a generation that watched life happen through a screen and only realized later that the script didn’t include them.
His voice is soft, layered, and haunting, like he’s singing just to himself, but we get to overhear. Every synth pad and heartbeat-like drum adds to that immersive, introspective vibe. By the time you hit “glory days,” the album’s cinematic closer, you’re floating in a fog of bittersweet self-reflection. With swelling music and emotional pacing shifts, it’s less a song and more a farewell letter to the innocence we all left behind. His voice gets layered and overlapped, making it sound soulful, but like the different, conflicting voices in your head, they get merged up and leave you confused.
In short, young adult fiction is a heartbreakingly honest look at growing up late. Check out a_shes entrance to the music scene with all his ten tracks on Spotify.
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Review by: Naomi Joan