Customer Reviews

Love, Save the Empty

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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 :) )

I think Erin McCarley is absolutely amazing. She has a great voice and the music sounds so good. These two elements together are a winning combination. Her sound is so good and this is an amazing debut album! Her music sounds like a combination of happy pop, bluesy jazz, and rock catchiness. The song "Love, Save the Empty" is so charming and instantly grabs your attention and your heart. I love this album!!!

Bottom Line : If you are looking for really good music from a talented debut artist, look no further than Erin McCarley - Love, Save the Empty." :)

Thanks to Pandora, I was turned on to Erin just a few weeks ago..I love her! I'm actually going to see her live this Friday night and I can't wait..I hope her 2nd album is just as good if not better than this one

This is a nice, well-written album in the vein of Sarah McLachlan. Easy on the ears.

I first heard "Pitter Pat" at the end of a Grey's Anatomy episode. The loved the song the instant I heard it! And now that I have Erin's new album, she easily has become one of my favorite artists! She is an amazing singer/songwriter with such an incredibly beautiful voice. I really can't think of a bad thing to say about her or her album - I definitely recommend it!

The first time I listened to the album all the way through, I was struck by her voice--it's just downright cool. I was also struck, however, with the feeling that all of the songs sounded too much alike. I still feel this way after having listened to the album a second time through. I'm glad I purchased the whole album, however, because once I put all the songs on a shuffled playlist, I found myself asking, "What song is this? Who is this?" and thinking to myself, "I really like this song!" So, the songs are pretty good, (especially for a debut album--some of our most famous artists today had the crappiest debut albums) and have a rock-alternative-folk feel that definately keeps your interest. But somehow when the songs are next to each other, they lose their punch. Buy the album and put it your player on shuffle!

I bought this on a whim, I had only heard Love, Save the Empty once on the radio. Once I opened the CD and put it in my car, I haven't listened to anything else. That was two weeks ago. I love the jazzy pop of Blue Suitcase, and the cry-in-my-pillow truthness of Gotta Figure This Out. I love this album, and I'm so happy I bought it.

We've been blessed with an abundance of female artists of late, and it's been great to see what they have to offer. Erin is another amazing talent that has so much potential - it will be fun to see her next offering if this release is any indication. I had heard her "Love, Save the Empty", which I very much liked, but when I got to download her "Pitter-Pat" acoustic version for free from Amazon, I was sold. I had been listening to five songs of hers on her MySpace page, and felt like this would be a good one to add to my collection. She joins Sara Bareiles, Meiko, and Lenka as my newest collection of albums from female rising stars. Her songs don't stray too far from the norm, and her verses are often a bit too short before repeating into the chorus, but the chorus is usually good enough to erase this concern (though as a result, the songs are shorter than I'd like). "Love, Save the Empty" is by far the star of the show here, but just make sure you reach back to the 10th track for "Bobblehead", a creative and catchy tune. There really isn't a song here I wouldn't enjoy if it came up on my random MP3 playlist.