The Burns Unit – Side Show

The Burns Unit are one of the more original and interestingly-constructed collaborations. The disparate group of 8 Scottish and Canadian musicians (folk singer Karine Polwark, Fence Collective mainstay King Creosote, Emma Pollock formerly of The Delgados, Indo-Caledonian Future Pilot AKA, multi-instrumentalist Kim Edgar, Canadians drummer/producer Mattie Foulds and pianist Michael Johnson, and rapper MC Soom T) originally came together courtesy of the Burnsong songwriters’ retreat in Scotland in 2006, not having previously known each other or worked together. Sparks clearly were struck, connections and musical bonds made, and now, four years later, we have the outcome in the form of Side Show.

The feat they attempt to pull off is that of producing something logical and cohesive from a combination of artists and personalities that includes six vocalists, a gamut of different styles/genres and a mix of nationalities. Delightfully, it is a feat in which they mostly succeed.

Lyrically and thematically this is a grown up album. With a collective worldliness and occasional cynicism, they sing of alcohol problems, break-ups, and parenthood in a manner all the more moving for its honesty and lack of sentimentality. ‘Helpless to Turn’ uses a “take me home dress I used to wear” as a metaphor for the singer’s pre-motherhood days before she “gave up my heart to the boy upstairs” in a way which is beautiful without sounding twee – a difficult balancing act with such subject matter. In ‘Since We’ve Fallen Out’, what starts as a gentle duet of regret builds in intensity until the heartrending lines “My soul is ripped from its core / I don’t believe any more“.

‘Sorrys’ is a stark tale of alcoholism, and useless apologies. That it is delivered in King Creosote’s almost other-worldly high pure vocal, and accompanied by a melody reminiscent of a children’s song somehow makes its impact greater, and more unsettling.

Vocal duties are often shared, with many tracks featuring a blend of male and female voices, making for a genuinely collaborative feel to the album. MC Soom T’s contributions are the most distinctive and the least easily assimilated into the blend. On ‘Send Them Kids To War’ and again on ‘What Is Life’ her singing voice is weaker and less tuneful than many of the others, and the former’s strong words of protest are slightly and regrettably lost in the speed of her delivery. The latter, though, has perky ska rhythms and a strong melody in its favour, and emerges as one of the album’s most upbeat moments.

Although sometimes billed as a “folk supergroup” of sorts, the feel of the album is not overwhelmingly “folkie”. Accordians and acoustic guitars feature strongly, as does Michael Johnson’s effective, emotive piano playing (particularly on ‘Sorrys’ and ‘Helpless To Turn’), but there is also tribal drumming (‘Send Those Kids To War’), sitar (‘Majesty of Decay’), electric guitar riffs (‘Blood, Ice and Ashes’) and a slightly irksome synth motif running through ‘Trouble’.

The strongest tracks are the opener ‘Since We’ve Fallen Out’, ‘You Need Me To Need This’ – a tale of a troubled, co-dependent relationship set to a minor-key yet jaunty Old Europe polka/waltz tune; and the dark, dramatic, frankly creepy ‘Blood, Ice and Ashes’. Featuring a heartstopping vocal performance, and resonant poetic lyrics (“Shimmering ember that cut up the dark“, and the wonderfully alliterative “Barbed wire and bracken / And broken illusions“), this had something of the same crazed and obsessive flavour as ‘Wuthering Heights’, say, or a Nick Cave murder ballad.

Hopefully this is not simply a one-off project. When a group of musicians come together and succeed in producing songs of this quality and depth, it becomes less like a “collaboration” or a “collective” and more, in fact, like a “group” or “band”. There is certainly scope for more, and it is to be hoped that more will be forthcoming, from this wise, musicianly, warm and truthful bunch.