Ashley Kutcher‘s latest venture plays like two halves of the same coming-of-age conversation on Back To My Roots and These Roots Run Deep, a record that splits in two to showcase the push and pull that comes with movement and stillness.
On Side A, Back To My Roots, Kutcher is leaning into intimacy and her most unguarded self, reconnecting with who she is at the core — figuratively, literally and musically. Defined by loud nights, quick laughs and emotional whiplash, the songs feel lived-in and unfiltered. Now, in Side B — These Roots Run Deep — it’s all about what happens when the noise dies down. Combined, on the double-album, Kutcher captures what it means to grow up, the excitement that comes with moving and the weight of staying in one place before packing everything up and starting new.
In Side B, Kutcher turns inward, exploring heartbreak, insecurity, nostalgia and emotional reckoning — and that all begins with “What I Want,” which sees Kutcher wanting everything at once and realizing she can’t have it all without tradeoffs. She questions the promises she was told would make life sense, simply sitting in conflict. She sings, “I wanna feel loveWithout any of the pain / I wanna hate him / But don’t wanna stay mad.”
Then, on “Useless,” Kutcher wrestles with self-worth and control, caught between wanting to lose control and wanting to let go completely. It sees Kutcher without self-worth and self-confidence, constantly being told fighting isn’t worth it because, rather, you keep on losing.
Arriving before the Jan. 23 release, “Hard Pill,” serves as the final single from the project and a defining moment on Side B. Vulnerable, self-aware and quietly devastating, the track embodies the emotional core of These Roots Run Deep, with Kutcher choosing honesty over humor, and reflection over release. She sings, “I thought meeting her would make me worry less / But, damn, it went and scared me half to death / No way she ain’t got a piece of his heart still / Damn, that’s a hard pill.”
Later tracks widen the lens. Kutcher then looks back on her life, reflecting on rising rent and fears that the local girls don’t like her before realizing she’s grown to appreciate her roots — a central theme of the album. On “In The Dirt,” she sings about preferring overgrown grass, a place to grow old and somewhere with a tire swing and a four-wheel wagon. She sings, “Maybe the grass was always greener in the dirt,” highlighting an appreciation for the little things.
In Side B’s final moments, Kutcher sings about one door closing and another opening on “Dig ‘Em Up.” She reflects on trying to plant seeds in her new life, only to realize she never lets the garden grow and fully plant those new roots. Now, she’s getting back on the road. She sings, “I pack it up with the baggage / I’m getting back on the open road / ’Cause every time that my roots get strong / I dig ’em up and I move on.” From Maryland to Los Angeles and back to Tennessee, she remains constantly moving in her most deliberate and wide-ranging body of work yet, using contrast as a driving force rather than a contradicting flaw.
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