Kevin Bronson on April 24th, 2012

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As a solo singer-songwriter, Austin Hartley-Leonard carved out a nice niche in soulful Americana, releasing an album and an EP, getting a slew of TV placements and earning a spot as a Hotel Cafe favorite. His new guise as Broken Anchor takes his melodically rich songwriting into the realm of atmospheric indie-pop, and if his first batch of songs, “Broken Anchor Vol. 1,” is any indication, it’s fertile ground. Working informally in the Echo Park home studio of producer Brad Gordon, Hartley-Leonard parlays warm atmospherics and a dusting of reverb into songs that have a hazy, retro feel. The recordings were made with assists from percussionists John Wells (the Hotel Cafe sound engineer) and Quinn Orison and bassist Jonny Flaugher.

||| Download: “Leave the Light On”

||| Also: Get the whole EP for free at Broken Anchor’s website.

||| Live: Broken Anchor celebrates its EP release on Wednesday with a show at the Echo Country Outpost. Broken Anchor also plays It’s a School Night at Bardot on June 11.