I’m not sure they’d thank me for the tag ‘Scottish Indie supergroup’, but that’s essentially what THE BURNS UNIT is. Among their personnel are folkie extraordinaire Karine Polwart, ex-Delgado Emma Pollock, Future Pilot AKA and King Creosote and I’m assuming the ‘Burns’ in the name refers to Rabbie rather than A&E.
Whatever, their debut album ‘Side Show’ is a suitably eclectic, but tuneful affair where individual egos are submerged for the sake of the common good. Although stylistically pretty fearless, it’s never less than a cohesive, not to mention frequently inspired 45 minute ride.
A high standard is established courtesy of opening track ‘Since We’ve Fallen Out’. An epic, folk-rocking tale of betrayal and wounds running deep with Creosote and Polwart supplying opposing opinions, it grabs your attention immediately and holds it thanks to the punchy Indie pop of ‘Trouble’ where Emma Pollock takes the lead and some great, Cars-style synth rides shotgun.
Elsewhere, East and West are fused surprisingly seamlessly. The weird but wonderful ‘You Need Me to Need This’ sways around like a drunken Balkan vaudeville, while a similar atmosphere is cut with a trace of The Specials’ ‘Ghost Town’ on the Ska-ish ‘What is Life?’ and ‘Majesty of Decay’ takes us further East again with its’ dreamy, Bollywood Pop feel. The excellent ‘Send Them Kids to War’, meanwhile, brings it all back home with its’ robust, Celtic-tinged atmosphere and raw, anti-war message (“when will we see these empires fall?/ let it hurt like a kick in the balls.”) It’s the kind of heartfelt set-piece Chumbawamba might once have pulled off and I mean that very much as a compliment.
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So ‘Side Show’ is all good, though it’s when they strip it right back that The Burns Unit really score. To this end, witness ‘Sorrys’ (sic) where the devastating effect of alcohol on a relationship is laid bare (“ there’s one too many trying to make this work/ there’s you, there’s me, there’s the bottle in the cupboard”) or the smitten ‘Helpless To Turn’ which is as gracious a postscript as this writer has heard all year.
Despite the diversity, The Burns Unit are indeed admirable team players. I’ve no idea how permanent their set up is, but on this showing it would be a crying shame if there were no windows in their collective diary for the creation of a follow-up.
The Burns Unit on Myspace
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