The world in which we (in) may be in dire straits, but Canadian combo The
Burning Hell are here to lead us through the end times.
Already clearly having global warming on their minds on 2017’s ‘The River (Never Freezes Anymore’), songwriter Mathias Kom and his multi-instrumentalist cohorts Ariel Sharratt and Jake Nicoll take on the looming environmental collapse of the planet on (shhh) a concept album of sorts; the perpetually touring trio having found themselves locked down at recording time for their ninth long-player.
‘No Peace’ is a pessimistic album opener, Kom’s vision of a brave new world turning out to be a dream wrapped in a swooning indie anthem.
There’s more optimism in ‘Nigel the Gannet’, a catchy slice of oddball electro-folk and a true story about the solitary titular bird and his concrete mate, while
‘Birdwatching’ follows a similar nature-based theme, with engrossing rapidfire
vocal.
‘The Last Normal Day’, a highly-danceable piece of DIY pop, is again driven by the frontman’s half-spoken delivery – ironically enough, considering the subject matter, like a considerably more chipper Lou Reed. “Not everybody gets a raft or boat, ask Jack and Rose”, he intones, while Sharrat’s chorus joyously celebrates “the end of the internet”.
The climax, of sorts, comes in ‘The End Of The End of The World’ – which “can’t last
forever” – a downbeat but optimistic ukelele-driven singalong. However all this pans out, The Burning Hell are the band to help us party on through the apocalypse.
This article originally appeared in the Sunderland Echo.