Legendary American D.I.Y. folk-pop singer-songwriter (and barber shop owner) Drew Danburry has just released his latest single – “Song To Long” – a revived and re-recorded version of a song written and recorded in 2006 with collaborator Ian Aiello.
It’s an interesting thought experiment. How many artists have partially written and half recorded songs that have been sat on a shelf gathering dust that, with a little TLC, could have life breathed in to them? There’s a certain coming to terms with one’s past self in that – maybe you don’t want to share an older version of you? Maybe you’re worried that you haven’t developed enough as an artist over the preceding years? Maybe something else?
It’s not quite the same as looking at photos of the old you and laughing at the weird hairstyle, the crazy fashion or even just forgetting being there at all because you were drunk or high. That’s a transient experience that everyone can understand.
What if, instead of a photo, you’re looking back at your old songs, with your thoughts, feelings and emotions from 15 years ago laid bare? How would you feel about that? Well, Utah based Danburry is brave enough to answer the question and we’re glad he did because “Song To Long” is an absolute gem. Although Danburry confesses in the lyrics that: “all these lonely songs I sing / they are as much a mystery to you as they are to me”.
“Song To Long” is an anthemic indie folk-pop burner that wraps its arms around you from the off. The Welsh have a name for a particular type of hug – ‘cwtch’ (pronounced kutch) – which is more than just a hug. It’s a hug that fully envelops you and makes you feel happy, safe and loved. “Song To Long” is the aural equivalent of a cwtch. It’s got a gorgeous melody, a lovely warm sound and Danburry’s vocals are, at times, reminiscent of Shins’ lead singer James Mercer. Surely that’s all you need to know, right? No? Well, it also has some brass instrumentation which gives it a really sentimental feeling and sounds just as good after you’ve had it on repeat for an hour (it’s true).
This is a wonderful aperitif for the second instalment of the ‘Icarus Phoenix‘ project will be out later this year, and we can’t wait.
