Burnt Island - Music and Maths

Chaffinch

Subtlety is in thin supply in today’s overwrought music scene, so it’s refreshing to hear a beautiful and understated debut like this. Glasgow-based nu-folkers Burnt Island are based around author and all-round renaissance man Rodge Glass, and this mini-album is a gentle but hugely accomplished slice of modern melancholy, in debt to the atmospheric musings of James Yorkston and the sharp lyricism of Leonard Cohen. Flute and viola infuse proceedings with a folky feel, while the stripped down arrangements of ‘Man on Fire’ and the shrewdly anthemic title track expose sumptuous melodies and well-crafted songwriting. An auspicious debut.