I only just discovered Barns Courtney‘s music. Thanks to the eclectic radio station they usually have on, my favourite coffeeshop in Toronto has been a pretty great place to discover new music (or, new to me in some cases). Earlier this week, Courtney’s “Fire” came on and it grabbed my attention. I’ve been listening to his EP, The Dull Drums pretty much constantly ever since. Released by Virgin EMI, here is the short tracklist:
- “Fire”
- “Glitter & Gold”
- “Little Boy”
- “Hellfire”
- “Hands”
I really like all five of the songs, but “Fire”, “Glitter & Gold” and “Hellfire” are absolutely stellar. I’m not sure how to describe it, really. Given other artists I know, I’ve been getting snatches of Kongos, X Ambassadors and maybe even Bruce Springsteen at one point… but if they were trying to write a song for Deadwood. At the same time, to my ears, he has come up with a pretty great, distinctive sound. I’m sure others could come up with a better, more apt comparison if they wanted to, but everything I like about those artists stylistically, Barns Courtney also has to offer: great songs, hooks, lyrics, vocals and vibe. Given his style and sound, I was very surprised to learn that he is English.
Here are the music videos for the first two tracks…
Civilian Reader 