Fresh out of their van, San Francisco’s Burnt Ones are back home from another US tour, and they’re finally ready to celebrate the release of their latest LP, Gift at Brick and Mortar Music Hall this Saturday, April 12. After a self-imposed six-month hiatus from playing live gigs, the band is making up for lost time with a fresh perspective on its music and live performances.
Though most listeners are familiar with the garage glam sound of the band’s first two albums, particularly their pop masterpiece single, Gonna Listen to T. Rex (All Night Long) off of their debut album, Burnt Ones have pushed passed conventions of the traditional garage rock sound, forfeiting digestibility in favor of creating more well rounded material.
For Gift, the band channeled its erratic live energy in the studio, bundling their pop melodies inside warm distorted layers of dissonance. Fluctuating rhythms lend each tune capricious vibes, and the introduction of a drum machine tinges the record with foreign electronic flavors. Mark Tester’s familiar vocals, particularly during those hushed and subtle tremolo moments, keep the songs anchored and facetted to the band’s roots. Gift, which was released on Castle Face Records on March 25th, without a doubt can still be recognized as a Burnt Ones record, but this time around, Mark and company challenge listeners to pay closer attention, and to actively listen and locate the infectious elements that are always at play in Burnt Ones’s songs.
If you accept the challenge, come out to Brick and Mortar this Saturday for the Burnt Ones’s record release show. The event will feature performances by Useless Eaters, Violent Change and Al Lover. – Lauren Espina