Erin McCarley: Love, Save the Empty
How does a solo artist stand out in a crowd these days? It’s not an easy task, due to the sheer number of singers and/or songwriters that seem to be on every street corner no matter what part of the globe you’re on. To help listeners and fans find you, it helps to be quite talented, and that can be said about newcomer Erin McCarley and her debut album, Love, Save the Empty. McCarley has the kind of radio-ready sound that is sure to please the “One Tree Hill” producers and fan base alike, but this sultry vocalist writes songs that run deeper and darker than that. What you’ll hear on most of Love, Save the Empty is a gloomy undertone, and McCarley openly admits that she is most inspired when sad. But that dark feel, akin to maybe Fiona Apple or Alanis Morissette, is also tempered by an accessible yet sophisticated side to her songwriting – think Aimee Mann or Luscious Jackson’s Jill Cunniff. And while McCarley does have a nice set of songs to debut to the world, the wispy Hotel Café vocal thing does get a bit tiresome after a while. It’s also what is selling right now, so you can’t fault the artist or label. Among 11 great pieces, the ones you should keep coming back to are the opening single, “Pony (It’s OK),” the peppy “Sleep Walking” and the beautifully melancholy “Lovesick Mistake,” easily the album’s best track. (Universal Republic 2009)
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Posted in: Alternative, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Pop, Rock, Rock Babes
Tags: " "Love, "Pony (It's OK), Aimee Mann, Alanis Morrisette, Erin McCarley, Fiona Apple, Hotel Cafe, Jill Cunniff, Luscious Jackson, Save the Empty, Universal Republic