Danny Burns released his first roots music collection in 2019 entitled North Country and, since then, has only expanded his reputation as one of the genre’s rising artistic forces. His latest collection Promised Land seems poised to elevate his profile to previously unknown heights and, if good fortune prevails, his new single “Someone Like You” will play a pivotal role in its ascension. It takes the relatively unusual step of marrying a dyed in the wool bluegrass backing with a pure pop song – in this case, a cover of an Adele track.
The improbable mix works. Adele’s pop song proves to be malleable from beginning to end and there’s nothing that sounds unwieldy around the translation. Burns tackles the song as if he wrote it himself, perhaps minutes before recording, and only snobbery will make this obstacle between the listener and song. It essentially maintains the same aesthetic. Burns and Adele alike are focused on delivering exactly what their respective performance demands and no more than that – Burns’ control over this performance doesn’t beat on its chest, but it’s clear and audible from the beginning.
URL: https://www.dannyburnsband.com/
It boasts the typical array of the bluegrass instruments. There’s fiddle, mandolin, and banjo. Of course, the latter is stereotypically key. You’ll hear guitar and upright bass as well. Burns’ music doesn’t stop, however, with merely checking the expected boxes and a jolting spark of inspiration charges the arrangement from the song’s outset. None of the players are disappointing, far from it, but there are really no standout instrumental moments outshining anyone else. It is a band effort and even the individual touches along the way contribute more to the song, in the end, than burnishing the player’s status at another musician’s expense.
Tim O’Brien has an enormous effect on the song’s vocal in his supporting slot. His haphazard, inexact weaving with Burns’ voice makers for fun listening and many will find the timbre of his voice enriches the cut. Another thing that helps stick this song in listener’s memory is the sense of stakes that Burns brings to the performance – he is clearly with every word, never taking any shortcuts, and fully behind the message he’s conveying.
It doesn’t overstay its welcome. Many qualities define great bluegrass and one of them is steam lined efficiency – there’s no wasted motion in this song. Burns and his surrounding musicians get straight to the musical and lyrical point with a minimum of fuss. You can take this track as is and it succeeds and, as a single from the Promised Land release, it tantalizes listeners with the chances that Danny Burns’ new outing may be his most memorable yet.
This is the sort of performing artist well worth following. He’s never going to take any cheap turns, latch onto some hollow gimmickry to win your favor, or pander for fans. Danny Burns is the sort of songwriter and musician who’s always going to be pursuing an honest representation of his art and would rather pack it in if he couldn’t. We’re better off, and bluegrass certainly is, with a musician like this in our midst.
Troy Johnstone