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Right off the bat what grabs me about this song, the vocal arrangement. This is effortless sounding harmony at its finest. It grows with the song too, getting more full as the parts roll in like fiddle, banjo, and acoustic guitar. But the vocal is front and center. Two parts, performed flawlessly.
Nunney Townon Spoitfy
The roots of two part harmony go back. Way back. I tried googling how far back, and it looks like they have been there a while. There’s even “Rules of Harmony” in Music Theory. I’m thinking it’s a familiar concept. But concepts are for before the song comes out. Now that we have the thing in our hand it’s about execution. These guys can sing and they do it well.
From Southwest UK known as “The West Country,” Burr Island tell intriguing stories with folk instruments and two part harmony. Their song building is solid with many layers added and dropping off as the song progresses, like fluid or waves. But there’s the vocal through nearly the whole song.
I am a singer. I know vocal harmony for lead is difficult. It’s not only difficult to perform, it’s difficult to arrange. When to both sing? Who starts? Do we do the same harmony on the third verse we did on the second? How do we give this thing movement? My ears do backflips when I hear something difficult pulled off effortlessly. I don’t know how much work went into it, in my imagination it took hours of practice to nail down some of these uncannily effortless agile vocals. Just watch their video of the song “Jonathan.”
“Jonathan” Burr Island
This video reveals a lot of practice. That’s what it takes, harmony like this. Each one of those voices know the song they’re singing. They might even have rehearsed which spots to breath. It comes natural, but to sound that close together takes practice. Not a lot of bands practice, nowadays. Just something I hear.
There’s an obvious concern for melody and movement. The traditional folk instrumentation and the new indie folk sounds work well together for a timeless appeal.
But it’s about the vocals for me. I would love to see them live. Live vocals in a good pocket is about as good as it gets. 5 voices out of 5.
K