joshua burnside | single review | war on everything

Unmistakably Burnside. Undeniably brilliant.

The calypso rhythms and tales from lands afar are buried like treasure, Joshua Burnside has left Ephrata and entered the depths of Hell. What does it sound like? A mesmeric darkness, shadowed by the Irish conflict and traditions 3000 miles closer to home than his debut NI Music Prize winning album.

New single War On Everything (released August 14th) pushes the drums to the front of the mix, marching Burnside towards some form of light amidst the maudlin-toned singles we've heard so far. The influence of Ohio elder-statesmen and Taylor Swift collaborators The National is obvious; everything from the swooning verse melody, to the Devendorf drum beat marking a continued growth from Ephrata's more pop-centric roots. We hear strings dancing in and out of time, militaristic in their desire to move the listener. Waves crash in the dark, as a lover reaches out for something, anything.

"She said I feel lonely when I'm with you, lonely when I'm with anyone, like those old ghosts you sing about, yeah, that's how I feel."

Much like The National, Burnside's rise from Belfast's underbelly to an audience of millions (online anyway) has been a steady one, quietly gathering fans the world over whilst refusing to compromise on his visions. It's an attitude his manager, friend and long-term confidant Lyndon Stephens undoubtedly nurtured before his tragic passing earlier this year.

It's worked Lyndon, but you never needed anyone to tell you that.

Taylor Johnson

Joshua Burnside's second album 'Into The Depths of Hell' is released September 4th.