Burs and the drop dead gorgeous somber resolutions of "Try"

 

"I asked you twice / Meant nothing then / To understand / The state / I'm in / From karmic trees / Fall kismet leaves / When you see me / Where will I be?"

The absolutely gorgeous, somber "Try" by Toronto's Burs, and from their upcoming album "Holding Patterns", is a sonically and emotionally drawn stunning song. With guitar shapes that remind me faintly of artists like Elliot Smith and Sparklehorse and lyrical melodies that may make you see the foggy images of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, the atmosphere here and deeply poetic lyricism had me thinking of a particular Steely Dan song.

Now, Burs Ray Goudy's lyrics from top to bottom are so enriching, so beautiful, clever and moving and I will feature below my little humble review. He has couched the soul suffering of the daily grind of working at exactly the wrong toxic place in interesting metaphors that bring the point home even more (Radiohead also begs to be mentioned, "a heart that's full up like a landfill / a job that slowly kills you" from No Surprises). Equally "Dirty Work" from Steely Dan's 1972 "Can's Buy A Thrill" album feel poignantly cut from the same cloth and while "Dirty Work" is about sexual improprieties, about being a beck and call boy toy for a rich women while her husband is away, both songs seem (to me) to be about the way we allow our humanity to be stripped from us to the point of not being a person but instead just being a means to an end.

This is what Ray shares:

"Try is for anyone who's ever been suffocated by a job. I've been through so many different work situations in so little time. It doesn't get any easier, but we have to work hard to sustain ourselves in a broken system. An ex-boss of mine followed me around for a while after I quit, and it was clear they were angry that I wasn't going to be doing their bidding anymore. I had my reasons, but they continued to spend so much time and energy trying to make my situation miserable; they wouldn't stop beating a dead horse. The song is saying, go ahead and try, see what good it does."

Once again, "Try" is drop dead gorgeous, compelling and inviting as misery does love company. "Holding Patterns", 'an inaugural full-length album' by Burs, drops everywhere on September 30th.

"Burs is the creative family of Lauren Dillen, Ray Goudy, Devon Savas and Oliver Compton."

-Robb Donker Curtius

With the futile scrape  / Of the match  / The gas in tin  / Doesn’t catch  /With the rain all set In the wood / The flame won’t do  / As it should 

Still try  / Try to keep the body warm / Try  / Try to save face until he's gone 

Sent my two weeks in / Condolences / But I’ve had enough / Taking shit  / The contract read / Like an empty hearse  / Said you better forget  / Your own worth 

Still try  / Try selling me my own remorse / Try / Try beating a dead horse 

I asked you twice  / Meant nothing then  / To understand  / The state  / I'm in  / From karmic trees  / Fall kismet leaves  / When you see me  / Where will I be? 

Still try  / Try to keep the body warm  / Try to save face until he's gone / Try to sell me my own remorse / Try beating a dead horse or  / Try your luck

THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:

https://www.facebook.com/bursmusic

https://twitter.com/bursmusic

https://open.spotify.com/artist/32OxhkemVHu2MT7L2DsoGX

https://bursmusic.bandcamp.com/

https://www.instagram.com/bursmusic/

https://music.apple.com/us/album/holding-patterns/1642364682

The Toronto-born indie outfit digs deep into an array of influences to build sounds that marry existential motifs with ethereal soundscapes. Underpinned by strings, textures and percussion, their music beckons to alternative and folk enthusiasts alike, all the while presenting listeners with a uniquely personal approach to quartet interplay.

Burs’ 2020 EP, Through Windows, garnered attention from Atwood Magazine’s Artists to Watch column, hailing the premiere as “a feverish, throttling introduction full of feeling and intent…a defiant spectrum of folk and rock-influenced dream pop.” A dual single emerged shortly thereafter, stemming from the band's virtual exchange of ideas amidst isolation: Flowers / Is This Thing On. Each track is lined with messages of irony and a continuous search for peace in the modern condition. These works simultaneously honed Burs’ musical explorations from familiar interactive territory into newfound depths of sonic experimentation.

In summer 2022, Burs foreshadowed a forthcoming LP with the respective releases of singles Lily and Try. The release of third and final LP single Hunger revealed a trinity of contrasting sonic pillars that merge across the record: alternative energies [Lily], folk sensibilities [Try] and ambient subtleties [Hunger].


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Burs, Toronto, Ontario, indie rock, folk indie, storytelling, alt pop, upcoming album "Holding Patterns", gorgeous, reflective, somber, "Try",