Brother and The Hayes and Sam Burchfield Reviewed
Brother and The Hayes – Abel
The books, the good ones and the bad ones too, have been written. All that we can do now is read them back to ourselves. There’s no escaping either their existence or their truth. And that’s something worth considering not just when you’re trying to solve the kind of issues that your grandparents once did, but also when you’re seeking out new music.
The fact is that some of the most beautiful new music is built on the foundation of old, carefully-tested, generally beloved sounds. Sure, there are those who try to escape this rule completely. But, in doing so, they risk losing an important already established connection with the audience. Brother and the Hayes go for timeless truths and ancient restlessness on the new single.
“Abel” is a slice of old-fashioned Americana. Cleverly, the band blends many of the elements that, subconsciously, we associate with this style. The guitars create the illusion of endless space, the vocals possess a gentle twang, and the lyrics quote the Biblical myths. This is one for the people who know that history ain’t changing any more, but that this doesn’t make anything less difficult.
Sam Burchfield – Looking For Love
There’s a growing interest in music of the 1960s or 70s. There’s a growing belief that those were happier, more innocent times and that the tunes being played during that era, somehow, have something to do with all that jolliness.
I’ve seen hippies in the movies, and nouveau hippies in organic food stores out in French villages. And while I like my peaches as clean as the next guy, I don’t buy it. The past is, likely, a miserable thing.
And if you’re thinking of drawing from the past, the least that you can do is honour it by accepting just how horrible and depressing the whole thing really is. That’s what Sam Burchfield does, and I, for one, am convinced.
The thing that really makes “Looking For Love” stand above the myriad of new folk tunes about flowers and springtime is that this is a plea that goes unanswered. The songwriter will even tell you so. This is a search for something that nobody really deserves, certainly not the person singing it. But this kind of self-loathing sure sounds good on tape. Hell, it sure sounds better than all of the songs about flowers and springtime. That’s what the past was, and in this way, the future, too.
