Kevin Bronson on April 1st, 2013

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Broken Anchor’s debut album is like a five-course meal for the melody-starved. The release, “Fresh Lemonade” (due in July), follows a trio of 2012 EPs that thrust singer-songwriter (and Hotel Café regular) Austin Hartley-Leonard into the full-band realm, as he teamed up first with producer Brad Gordon and then drummer Mike Duffy to fashion a sound reminiscent of the Shins or a less-arena-like Band of Horses. The album has all the highlights from the EPs – “Leave the Light On” (touted here last April), the hyper-romantic “Always” and “Never Leave Me Alone” (which, in our opinion, is better if you don’t watch the video, but what the heck). Hartley-Leonard’s evocative vocals recall any number of current indie-folk heroes, and “Fresh Lemonade’s” spacious arrangements and propulsive rhythms keep the album from nodding off. Given Hartley-Leonard’s career success in licensing, you’ll probably hear some of these songs in film and TV; as an album, they make for a feast.

||| Stream: “Broken Anchor Blues”

||| Download: Via Noisetrade, get a six-song sampler on a pay-what-you-want basis.

||| Live: Broken Anchor plays April 26 at Molly Malone’s.