On her fourth album, California singer-songwriter Ashe is older and wiser—but she’s not afraid to infuse her meticulously crafted pop with a little whimsy. “Stop the Wedding!”, the opening track, announces itself with strings and Ashe sending an urgent message: “You don’t have to waste your night out and wear your heart out,” she pleads to someone on the verge of reluctantly walking down the aisle, teasing liberation through tempo changes and joyous backing choirs. While The Girl of Your Dreams has a title that hints at pleasing others, its ebullience and precise construction is evidence that Ashe is forging her own path. She updates classic pop ideals with 21st-century lyrical sensibilities and the occasional unexpected flourish, like the guitar contortions that add a psychedelic touch to “Stardust”. Ashe’s powerful but lithe voice holds all her ambitions together. It curls around the grooves of “Love Bomb” and flutters through the increasingly menacing orchestrations of “Swan Lake”, and her more austere performances—like her lamenting on the gently downcast “Sunburn”—also prove arresting.