“Famously Easy” is such an endearing opening track for a debut album that it promises good things from the Portland, Ore.–based Hook & Anchor, a group featuring Blind Pilot’s Kati Claborn, Luke Ydstie, and Ryan Dobrowski, as well as Gabrielle Macrae (of The Macrae Sisters) and Erik Clampitt (of Clampitt, Gaddis & Buck and Power of Country). The band’s eclectic instrumental abilities ensure the songs get varied arrangements. Fiddle, banjo, and pedal steel matched with the usual guitar, piano, bass, and drums let Hook & Anchor tilt things toward Americana folk and bluegrass when the time is right. The aforementioned opening track starts as standard heartland rock with generous harmonies, while “Wild Wind” shows off their acoustic abilities. “Concerning Spectral Pinching” tricks it up, starting as a somber fiddle tune before the guitars rock it up a notch. Primarily recorded live in a room with the players listening to one another, Hook & Anchor is filled with honest harmonies and the pure energy of musicians feeding off one another. The quality of the players ensures higher standards for songwriting as well.