HEAR THIS: Broken Anchor
As a solo artist, Austin Hartley-Leonard wasn’t satisfied. The TV placements on “Burn Notice” and “Jersey Shore” just didn’t do it for him. As the duo Broken Anchor with percussionist partner Mike Duffy, he sounds a bit more so, even if the lyrics still deal with life’s cruel realities. That voice, commanding and soulful, directs the wavering pads and acoustic pickings that coarse through their three-EP offering, simply titled Broken Anchor Vol. 1, 2, and 3.
The songs are catchy but restrained. Check all the grandiosity the two manage to pack into the standout “Leave The Light On,” with its boom-bat drums and jangly melody. Hartley-Leonard sings of aging and insanity, of fires and winters. As a songwriting pair, Broken Anchor make music worth taking in.