Single Reviews - 23 October 2022 - Joshua Burnside, Furrows, CHRISTOPHERSEN

Posted by Jay Honeycomb on

Photo by Julia Rekamie


Joshua Burnside - Rough Edges 

folk


One of Ireland's, and specifically Northern Ireland's, more endearing songsmiths, Joshua Burnside, has a new single out. This is cause for celebration. Burnside lingers on the more whimsical and exploratory side of guy-with-guitar folk and is as much a poet as a sonically aware composer. His latest single, "Rough Edges", is characteristically emotive ("I can only love you for as long as I do, and I'm sorry if that isn't enough of you"). Burnside's music is popular on Spotify, with double-digit million streams across his more popular tracks. It's easy to see why. His songs mellifluously fit into the background of an evening as much as they provide revelatory headphone moments. The voice here sounds deeper and Drakian, with self-reflective maturity coming through in the simplicity and observational nouns ("shark bites and bullet wounds"). "Rough Edges" hits the mark set by Burnside's ten-year discography, staying true to function while slightly modifying form for a more accessible foray into his unique brand of celtic-tinged folk poetry. From the upcoming EP "Late Afternoon in the Meadow (1887)".





Furrows - Never Here 

indie rock

Brooklynite Peter Wagner's nom de plume, Furrows, suggests an artist carving out new paths in the musical landscape. While Wagner doesn't necessarily cover any new ground in his recent sing "Never Here", he finds some lovely patches in the psychedelic-indie-pop fields that deserve attention. The track sees Furrows quietly sing out a Beatlesesque melody as funky bass lines, shuffling drums, and sturdy acoustic strumming are covered in wails of keys. There's a pleasant atmosphere here, even if it's hard to know exactly what this song is about. It will only take a couple of listens before the dreamy vibe feels familiar. 






CHRISTOPHERSEN - Cannibal 

experimental 


CHRISTOPHERSEN is the mononym of one Anna Christophersen, a fine art student at Central Saint Martins, London. Anna's fine art roots are on show here as she gives her music patterns through repetition, abstract associations, and focused execution. Through eerie and rousing vocals, loud industrial drums, clean electric guitar strikes, and mutated bass, CHRISTOPHERSEN colours her songs with a sci-fi sensibility and nuanced mood layered with impressions of neon tones and urban landscapes. While one could compare this music as accurately to Nine Inch Nails as to Bjork, CHRITOPHERSEN seems to be experimenting more with ideas than form. Perhaps it is her fine art training that has given precedence to theory over practice, though practice is not something Anna needs much of.