Some reviews are easy to do because the music literally does the talking. Either the record in question is so brilliant that superlatives can drop off the tongue with ease, or the disc is utter garbage that makes your ears want to drop off. Thankfully Deep Elm’s latest signings Burns Out Bright fall into the former category. ‘Distance and Darkness’ is a gem of an EP that has melody and intricacy in equal doses. There’s passion, emotion and huge singalong hooks, something I personally love in a record.
For the previously uninitiated, BOB (for short) are a quartet from South Carolina who were just added to the Deep Elm stable. This release is their first on the emo label and it’s well worth picking up if you are a fan of the likes of Brandtson, or the other more melodic outfits on the roster. Opener ‘Crowded Streets, Empty Skies’ sets the tone with a barnstormer of a track that begs to be played and played. There’s a rough guitar line that works perfectly alongside a bitter, yet beautiful, vocal and the drums are hammerd in the intro yet smoothed out later on. It’s a method which continues successfully throughout – ‘Our Proudest Moments’ is a real gem with a massive chorus, while ‘Watership Down’ mxes up the lyrical angst with a tortured, yet infectious, vocal melody.
The slower ‘Something I Can Steal’ is another hit-in-waiting, while ‘Twenty-Two’ proves that Burns Out Bright have enough gas in the tank to prove they could well be contenders to crossover and make a massive impact in the music world. Closer ‘Prodigal’ is heavier and more moody, yet typifies the intelligence and songsmithery that is on offer throughout. The vocals taunt yet delight, the drums blast and the guitars get down and dirty when needs be. Burns Out Bright have come up trumps with an EP which will surely be on the ‘best of’ lists at the end of the year. If you like melodic emo-rock, then this could be your favourite new band.
www.burnsoutbright.com
Deep Elm Records
Paul