CD Review of...
Cary Ann Hearst & The Borrowed Angels
Lazy Excuse
By Sharon Chapman
Mississippi native Cary Ann Hearst is not to be trifled with. In Lazy Excuse, the singer-songwriter's compositions portray her as a wild child of hard-rocking country music—she'll outsmoke you, she'll outdrink you, and she'll likely kick your ass into the next county if you mess with her. And yet, Ms. Hearst's tough girl exterior doesn't keep her from writing soulful, reflective music. For example, in Athens, the chorus describes someone who acknowledges her mistakes head-on but seeks to "wipe the slate clean”—“I had too much to drink/I had too much time to think/About what I did and what I should have done/You can't change the past/No it's far too much to ask/Can't get on a train that's already gone.”
On Black Water, the EP's most radio-ready track, Hearst sings of wanting to put down roots with the man she loves. But while such songs are often cloying or needy in nature, Hearst sings with the self-assuredness of somebody who knows what she wants in life and who has confidence that she will find it. Kudzu is a loving tribute to the singer's roots, with the promise that she will return home—“But I will find a light to shine/To lighten up the dark places I left behind/Though they say when you run away/You cannot go back/But I think they're wrong.”
Daughter is another song about one's ties to home—the wishes of a mother who doesn’t understand the life of excitement her daughter craves but who supports her dreams nonetheless. As a change of pace, Glitter is the mournful cry of an old woman who yearns for her spent youth and regrets that, "they don't stop me anymore to say ‘aren't you that gorgeous what's-her-name?’"
Rounding out the EP are two live tracks, showing that Cary Ann Hearst & the Borrowed Angels have the chops to handle audiences. The Rockabilly tune Something's Wrong With My Brother and the jazzier Hungry Boys are crowd-pleasing, finger snapping numbers.
Lazy Excuse is Hearst's indie debut release. There is nothing lazy about this EP, however. Cary Ann Hearst's energy and storytelling prowess are indications that we'll be hearing more from this talented newcomer in the future.