Betsy Kingston & The Crowns’ “Blue Laws” is the solid first album of a budding, strong female front vocalist and songwriter — a step down from Janis Joplin, Alanis Morissette and Tracy Bonham, although it shows her work and potential.

"Blue Laws"

The assorted combination of rock and country tunes makes “Blue Laws” a pleasure to listen to in its variety and shows off Kingston’s versatility as a singer and songwriter: booze and love-gone-wrong are recurring themes throughout her songs — conveying her frustrated, angry and languid lyrics. The instrumentals throughout show The Crowns’ priority to accompany Kingston, allowing her be the star of each song without overshadowing her or showing off as individuals.

The title track is a good example: a wonderful three minutes with blues inspiration. The piano in the background complements Kingston’s voice and sets the calm, cool mood of her song. Her inspiration for the song came from laws that prohibit the sale of alcohol on Sundays, which adds a historical dimension to her songwriting.

Another track that stands alone is “Christmas Supper with Your Family,” in which Kingston captures the discomfort of family expectations and personal decisions, which the merriment of the holiday season only agitates and exacerbates. Her music video of this track, available on YouTube, brings the song to life, with jugglers and pesky family members in the background.

“Goodbye, Sweet Boy” and “You Look Like I Need a Drink” are the country songs of the album, which show the Kingston-led band’s liveliness and spunk. Piano, guitars and a horn section appear frequently throughout the album, but a mandolin rounds out “Goodbye, Sweet Boy.” The lyrics of both songs are a little clichéd — but the instrumentals make these tracks a good start to other country songs.

Thank goodness “Americus B-Side” only lasts one minute and 17 seconds. “This is not what I came for, It’s not what I came for” repeat throughout the song and Kingston’s distorted voice is obnoxious. Because of its short length, that’s probably the point.

I hope she gets out of town, too.

In spite of a couple of songs’ loose lyrics, the majority of the tracks and their accompanying music create a good debut album. Kingston’s lyrics and the way she sings them conveys her emotion quite well, and the band supports and enhances her as its front.

Most important, with each track lasting around three minutes, Kingston uses her time well to produce pause-less emotion.