Self Titled Demon by Burly
ALBUM BLURB
Self Titled Demon is the debut EP of Upstate New York 5-piece BURLY. Recorded at home from 2017-2018, the five tracks present an eclectic collection of musical influences and styles anchored in collaboration. BURLY members Ryan Stewart, Richard Nolan, Seth Tillinghast, Ian Nichols, and Adam Muro have performed together in a variety of musical acts over the past decade. Some of the songs on the album date back to a 2013 correspondence between Stewart and non-performing member Timothy Furgal.
Atmospheric guitar, languid saxophone, brushed drums, pensive bass, and the ever present vibraphone of singer / vibraphonist Stewart open the album and provide an ethereal background for Furgal’s poetry on, “Branches of Blood.” This hushed and deliberate momentum is carried forward through the album in arrangements stitched together from improvisation and collaboration. “Happy Birthday 2001,” and, “Kent Lame,” the songs written solely by Stewart, were inspired by a half-remembered birthday party of a high school friend and a purposeful expedition through a Grateful Dead message board, respectively. These delicate memories become delightful curios, while the songs co-written by Stewart and Furgal meditate on thoughts of love, sorrow, fear, communication, and self-preservation, using Furgal’s poetry as lyrical content and musical inspiration.
