Review Summary: Old world blues
Burning Daylight is an exercise in mourning. Not in the way of cheesy sop stories but moreso in the cold morose of old world blues. Sending off your youngest brother as he enters the war, watching your mother pass of something you know can be treated but dont have the money for, or forcing your lover away as you plunge further into whiskey to evade your own sense of feeling. It's all the classics of tragedy vocalized in deep, shaky baritone melodies and old western strings, something as equally calming as it is cold.
A track like "Barbara Anne" exemplifies this well, with King Dudes vocals taken to an earthy rumble, only altering for a rattling croon that is just as beaten. Beaten, broken, and unfortunately, not unbowed-that is the theme here. Through the bitter snap of "I'm Cold" or the thick wavering static of "You Can Break My Heart", one can feel a tangible sense of defeat from the start that only becomes weightier as time goes on. Really, the only thing preventing this from becoming a truly draining record is just how surprisingly calming it manages to remain throughout, which is the duality of this record. For every bitter sense of anguish there is a feeling acceptance that blankets it all. This isn't a concept of beauty through sadness, but rather the final realization in the inevitability of tragedy, something that is rarely done so well.
