Love, Save the Empty

Erin McCarley | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 6, 2009)
• Original Release Date: 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Universal Republic
• ASIN: B001G1L3S0
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,896 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Erin McCarley calls the music on her debut album, Love, Save the Empty, a document of her search for authenticity in herself and in others. If that sounds heavy, there's a reason why: According to McCarley, "Loving You" is about "being honest at the beginning of a new relationship and saying, `I have nothing left to give,' to this amazing person standing right in front of me." "Sleepwalking" profiles a cynic that can't hear it come back his own way. For the title track, McCarley was inspired to write a song about the effects stemming from a lack of role models in a parentless world. And yet the 11 songs collected here (songs that ignited an industry-wide frenzy when McCarley performed them at SXSW earlier this year) pull off the trick that all great pop performs: They do heavy philosophical lifting with a lightness that boosts the spirit. This is elegantly crafted, deeply melodic music that resounds with echoes of the Beatles and Aimee Mann, Alanis Morissette and Amy Winehouse.

McCarley grew up in the Dallas suburb of Garland, where she says her parents couldn't have done a better job raising her and her older sister. "It was a very happy home with very little pain to deal with," she explains, describing days filled with dance class and choir rehearsal. In a way, though, her ideal childhood led to an unexpected wake-up call later in life. "It kind of gave me an unrealistic view of everything," McCarley notes with a laugh. "That's not how the world is, you know?" In McCarley's music you can hear her charting the distance between fantasy and reality, as well as the heartbreak that inevitably accompanies its discovery.

McCarley's brand of honesty doesn't come without the occasional flash of regret. "I've looked back at some of these songs recently and thought to myself, `Are you serious? I can't believe I put that out there!'"

Near the top of the list of McCarley's favorite artists are names like Fiona Apple, Patty Griffin and Greg Laswell (the latter of whom co-wrote "Bobblehead"). "I just love how true and raw their lyrics are," she explains. Listening to records by these musicians is more than enjoyable for McCarley--it's inspiring. "I get one line into one of their songs and I have to stop and write my own," she says. McCarley singles out her favorites' unique phrasing, the way they've taught her to concentrate not only on her words but on her delivery. "Their lyrics are that much more powerful because of the way they sing them."

McCarley currently calls Nashville home, but she cut her musical teeth in San Diego, where she'd moved after college to pursue a life that didn't feature music at its center. During her undergraduate days she'd spend weekends singing with a country cover band for extra cash, yet in San Diego, selling clothes in a boutique and hanging out on the beach, she began thinking not just like a singer, but as a songwriter, which satisfied a different artistic jones. "Once I discovered songwriting it became an addiction," she says now, remembering countless days she spent holed up in her house from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., doing writing exercises (and staring at the wall) while wearing the same pair of linen pants. "Most nights I'd end up with an unfinished song. But when the day would come when all the pieces would align, and I'd know this is a song for people to hear, there is no better release in the world. Those are some of the only times that I can go out at night or sit on the couch next to my loved ones and feel at peace--like, `Job well done.' I can rest, at least for a second." It was during this bout of creativity that McCarley met producer/writer/keyboardist Jamie Kenney (the rare partner she felt 100 percent comfortable with), and the two began honing the songs that would make up Love, Save the Empty.

"It's hard for me to write about being happy," McCarley admits. "I don't prefer being sad, but it's a real spot for me. If you met me, I'm not this dark, sulking person, though I'm not bubbly by any means, either. I guess it comes down to the fact that I'm not afraid of being sad.

Erin's goal an artist is as simple--and as profound--as they come. "When I'm on stage," she says, "I'm trying to communicate with every single person out there."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice, January 6, 2009

By 

MzC (SC, USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Love, Save The Empty (MP3 Download)

The songs are great pop... light but with some meaning. A variety of moods, melodies, and instrumentation. If I had to compare this to anyone I would say I hear some Colbie Caillat, Norah Jones, Nellie McKay, even some Diana Krall. Good pleasant voice, nice to drive home to.

46 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Testosterone need not apply, February 3, 2009

By 

Daniel Sweeney (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Love, Save the Empty (Audio CD)

Grey's Anatomy is the scourge of indie rock. That show has taken many a respectable singer-songwriter, made one of their songs the soundtrack of an insufferably schmalzy "emotional" scene thereby completely ruining it for every card-carrying hipster with a sideways haircut who now has to attend concerts with love-struck soccer moms trying to appear hip and relevant. KT Tunstall, we hardly knew ye.

Ms. McCarley has managed a of triple crown of sorts by having her music licensed for use in not only Grey's, but also sister-programs-with-ovaries One Tree Hill and Kyle XY, plus it's being used in the trailer of the completely testosterone-free He's Just Not That Into You. So if you've never even heard her music, you probably get the impression that it won't exactly grow hair on your chest. And that it is easy to swallow. And you are correct.

Despite the fact that McCarley is not a risk-taker, she's got a great voice that can pull off a variety of styles from jazz, to pop to chamber-folk to -- heaven help me -- country, and she knows how to use it. I hear echoes of Tunstall and Sia and Alanis in there. And she writes strong melodies that stoke your emotions and stick with you after the music has died. And she looks like a hotter Meg Ryan. So yeah, for people like me that are trying to tear her down, she doesn't give much to work with.

I like this album, darnit.

So yeah, my man-card has been officially revoked. Which means I can finally watch Grey's Anatomy.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant!!, January 11, 2009

By 

Barton T. Bobb "Music lover" (Richmond, VA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Love, Save The Empty (MP3 Download)

I consider myself a music afficionado and generally prefer edgier music across the modern rock spectrum (e.g. Three Days Grace, All-American Rejects, Saliva, Switchfoot), but this album by Erin McCarley is one of the best debut albums I have EVER heard. She has an amazing voice (think cross between KT Tunstall & Poe maybe, but better) and most of the songs are really catchy without being formulaic. The instrumentation used in several of the songs (incl strings, timpani, piano) is outstanding and lends additional flavor and originality to the song. Even the somewhat slower songs are not "snoozers" at all (except for track #4 maybe), but the catchy/more uptempo songs outnumber those slower ones by far anyway.

This was BY FAR the best $1.99 I have ever spent on music (as deal of the day recently), but I would GLADLY pay the current full price of $7.99 and still consider it a STEAL. This album, after I have fully "digested" it, may easily end up in my top 10 albums of all time (and I have A LOT to choose from :) )