REVIEW: Danny Burns — Promised Land (LP)
With a sturdy tempo driving its initial push, “Come to Jesus” comes into focus on the back of a tremendous arrangement, but its main draw isn’t its toned rhythm. Surreal and perhaps the strongest lyrical delivery Danny Burns has submitted to date, this selection from the ten-song Promised Land from our aforementioned singer is easily one of the best tracks on the record, though hardly the lone patch of pure wonderment to discover. Promised Land is as folk-tinged as it is Americana-powered, which despite being a more common cocktail in recent years sounds as fresh as ever here.
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There’s more than just bold interpretations of classic lyrics to enjoy in this LP; in fact, I would even say that the verses aren’t quite as captivating as some of the instrumentation is in songs like “Danny Boy,” “Magnolia Wind” and the opening track “Someone Like You.” Everything about Promised Land feels a little out on a limb to some extent, yet even its most experimental moments bear a certain accessibility required to attract casual bluegrass fans and serious country addicts alike. More than a touch of time and thought went into structuring this album, and that’s made quite obvious to us from the get-go here.
“Lifeline” and “Fields of Gold” have some of the most striking moments of any song on the record, and while all of the rhythms in Promised Land are pretty textured, these shape the mood of their melodic counterparts almost entirely.
There’s something really special about bucolic music sporting as evocative a rhythmic backbones as both of these tracks are, and while I wouldn’t describe any of the music on this album as filler, they’re reason enough to give the whole set of songs a listen this summer.
I love the layered elements in “Dirty Old Town,” “Some Might Say” and the juggernaut “Nothing But a Child.” I think that, in the case of these three tracks, the arrangement contributes a mountain of emotionality to the underlying grooves, which further adds to the vulnerable sensibility in the lyrics. Promised Land is jointly complex and surprisingly easy to listen to, and though there are a lot of country records treading similarly vivid waters right now, few have left me as spellbound as this LP’s songs have. This era has made some amazing music, but this might be the most mature piece I’ve had the pleasure of hearing lately.
If what I’m hearing in Promised Land is a taste of what’s still to come for Danny Burns, I think that his best rhythms and rhymes are likely still ahead of him. This is a great look into the present state of his artistry, and as much as I think it’s his most well-rounded work thus far, I doubt it’s representative of a creative peak in his career. He sounds like he’s still got a lot to get off of his chest here, and I for one will be eagerly looking forward to his next dispatch as a musician, whether from the studio or the stage, original or cover.
Colin Jordan
