"Spy Life", Burton L.
"Spy Life", Burton L., Omega Point Records, 2004
Singer/songwriter, or DJ? Burton L. is a bit of each. His songs have the sensitive feel of neo-folk. Yet Burton knows his way around a studio, adding a number of electronic effects to this CD's thirteen tracks. Either way, this is a great downtempo work.
The first cut "Fuel for Trees" is under a minute long. It sounds like a spy movie sound track, with a similarity to "You Only Live Twice."
"Groggy" switches between sounding like a Ben Folds Five cut (except the repeated line, "They can all suck my ---") and an electronic one with Burton's voice run through a device that makes it sound remote.
Burton comes up with lovely melodies. "Need," "Beautiful Sunshine Eyes," and "Spy Life" are the closest to conventional sounding love songs, with Burton's voice backed only by guitar (mostly acoustic) and programmed beats. There is a nice trombone sample in the middle of "Need."
"It's So Easy (To Love You)" has Burton sing-songing above programmed keyboard and drum beats, with somewhat cynical lyrics, though: "...she had a beautiful bed/sex - it's all we had."
'Planet Kid" is more offbeat, with a distorted voice sample as part of the backup at first, and later Burton overtracks his voice for a somewhat off- key effect. "Soft to a Dead Man" uses a similar effect, switching between speaking and singing parts.
"Maze" is one of the best cuts. Backed only by piano, acoustic guitar, and beats, Burton sings of existential angst without making the lyrics overly complex. The mysterious "Dark Liver" adds sci-fi drama sound bytes and a bit of scat singing. "Summer Camp" ends the CD on a quirky note, with Burton making vacation sound scary over minimal piano and beats.
I highly recommend this CD, both for the quality of the songs and its enticing mixture of dance, lounge, and pop.
- Dave Howell, 7/04
(This article first appeared in the FMSound music site.)
Singer/songwriter, or DJ? Burton L. is a bit of each. His songs have the sensitive feel of neo-folk. Yet Burton knows his way around a studio, adding a number of electronic effects to this CD's thirteen tracks. Either way, this is a great downtempo work.
The first cut "Fuel for Trees" is under a minute long. It sounds like a spy movie sound track, with a similarity to "You Only Live Twice."
"Groggy" switches between sounding like a Ben Folds Five cut (except the repeated line, "They can all suck my ---") and an electronic one with Burton's voice run through a device that makes it sound remote.
Burton comes up with lovely melodies. "Need," "Beautiful Sunshine Eyes," and "Spy Life" are the closest to conventional sounding love songs, with Burton's voice backed only by guitar (mostly acoustic) and programmed beats. There is a nice trombone sample in the middle of "Need."
"It's So Easy (To Love You)" has Burton sing-songing above programmed keyboard and drum beats, with somewhat cynical lyrics, though: "...she had a beautiful bed/sex - it's all we had."
'Planet Kid" is more offbeat, with a distorted voice sample as part of the backup at first, and later Burton overtracks his voice for a somewhat off- key effect. "Soft to a Dead Man" uses a similar effect, switching between speaking and singing parts.
"Maze" is one of the best cuts. Backed only by piano, acoustic guitar, and beats, Burton sings of existential angst without making the lyrics overly complex. The mysterious "Dark Liver" adds sci-fi drama sound bytes and a bit of scat singing. "Summer Camp" ends the CD on a quirky note, with Burton making vacation sound scary over minimal piano and beats.
I highly recommend this CD, both for the quality of the songs and its enticing mixture of dance, lounge, and pop.
- Dave Howell, 7/04
(This article first appeared in the FMSound music site.)