ERIN ANNE
Tough Love CARPARK RECORDS 7/10
Fine debut from LA songwriter There’s nothing winsome or restrained about this debut offering from La-based singer-songwriter Erin Anne, whose fondness for grungy guitar sees her sharing headspace with the likes of Ty Segall, Waxahatchee and Tanya Donelly while also drawing on riot grrl’s studies of gender and politics. She makes that debt clear on “Bedroom Track (Carrie)”, which takes lines from Carrie Brownstein’s 2015 memoir and furnishes them with thundering bursts of synth and electric guitar. She can do quiet and contemplative, but anthems like “Tough Love”, “Bitter Winter” and “Gaslighter” are the highlights, as Erin Anne embraces lyrical and emotional complexity without relinquishing a love of sharp riffs.