If the cyberspace is a world of its own, then old-school forums and messages boards are its lithosphere—a vast deposit of detritus and dead ends pocked with unpolished gems and intriguing clues of creatures and cultures now long since past. Those brave enough to dig down will find a lot of dirt, and those determined to keep digging might find the remnants of something altogether more valuable.
‘Kent Lame’, the new single from upstate New York band BURLY, was born of such digi-palaeontology. Namely a post about a Grateful Dead show sometime in 1980, and the lost weekend that resulted from it. Taken from the EP Self-Titled Demon, forthcoming via Five Kill Records, the song excavates the story and reanimates its characters, reapplying meat to their bones and setting them within a hospitable atmosphere conjured from vibraphone, effected guitar, bass, saxophone, and drums.
The band cite a “hushed non-urgency” in the description of their style, and the idea is apparent across Self-Titled Demon. The lyric writing is shared by Ryan Stewart and non-performing member Timothy Furgal, the latter providing poetry which Stewart sets to music along with the other BURLY members Richard Nolan, Seth Tillinghast, Ian Nichols and Adam Muro. But, whoever is writing any given song, the unhurried sensation remains, a sluggish dreaminess permeating the songs that speaks of half-remembered things, small memories so far back in the subconscious that, when they are finally dredged up, they emerge significant and strange.
We’re sharing a video for ‘Kent Lame’ today, so take a look below and be sure to dive into the album after release.
Self-Titled Demon is set for release on the 25th January via Five Kill Records and you can pre-order it now.
Art by Brendan Dalton