Austin-based Kacy Crowley’s debut, Anchorless, features the same brand of straight-ahead pop-rock purveyed by Sheryl Crow and Joan Osborne. Except that Crowley lacks the melodiousness of the former and the pipes of the latter.
The album, which was produced, recorded, and mixed by Dave McNair, contains some nice moments and a few catchy melodies, but too often it gets bogged down by VH1-style trappings. “Vertigo” begins pleasantly enough, with delicate acoustic guitar and Crowley’s quiet vocals. Then the mood is ruined by the crashing cymbals and cheesy pedal steel of the chorus. Similarly, “Follow Me Outside” starts out with a fine groove, but a bombastic chorus wrecks the vibe.
Though she sounds sincere, Crowley occasionally overextends her generic voice, holding notes far too long. She and McNair both opt for the broad, bold stroke at moments when a subtle touch would be preferable.
Crowley wrote or co-wrote all the songs, and the lyrics are spotty. “Nickel to the Stone” contains some strong images, like kitten paw prints on a new car, and a scene where a little girl rewinds a cassette tape with a pencil. On the other hand, the autobiographical “Rebellious Young Women” contains embarrassing, gee-whiz-ain’t-I-wild lines. The beginning of the second verse is the nadir: “Then the Grateful Dead came to me like a wave on the air/I didn’t shave my legs for at least two years.” The very next song starts with the words, “Mick Jagger’s on Eighth Street”. The 28-year-old Crowley should know better than to name-check famous rockers. Such pretension could be forgiven if Crowley were 18.
As anyone who has ever been there can attest, Austin is home to numerous talented, unsigned singer-songwriters. Yet a mediocre performer like Crowley gets major-label distribution through Atlantic. That’s showbiz for ya.
