Burs is a Toronto, Canada-based alternative rock band that consists of Lauren Dillen, Ray Goudy, Devon Savas and Oliver Compton. Formed in 2019, they already have an EP release under their belt, 2020’s Through Windows. Yet, they’re just hitting our radar now thanks to their full-length debut. It’s called Holding Patterns.
By Graeme Smith
Feature photo by Paige Paton
In many ways Holding Patterns is a culmination of the band’s musical journey of the last three years but’s also very much an expansion of their catalogue. Singles Lily and Try were released over the summer to give a taste of what to expect but otherwise this is a collection of nine new originals.
There’s a meditative feel to the album and, indeed, the title refers to the negative “holding patterns” we can find ourselves in psychologically – clinging to past traumas and stresses. The concept it brought to life right from the off through the reflective yet tense The Year Now. It’s a slow builder that hits a melancholic stride after a prolonged intro. Once the vocals dig their claws into your soul though, there’s no escaping.
Try takes things in a progressive folk direction and in fact the opening duo of this album feels like a combination of early and late Pink Floyd to a degree. Second single Lily follows, and brings with it grungy rock. It’s quite a gamut of genres to span in three tracks, but still feels coherent. That’s quite the feat.
The middle of the album starts with the gently contemplative Fields. Nearly continues in the same vein, led by delicately plucked acoustic guitar and heart-rendering harmonies. Oliver has a slow and deliberate tempo with mournful electric guitar. The trio represent an emotional low point for the album, but are a sublime exercise in the philosophy of “less is more.”
As the album reaches its conclusion, the various musical and lyrical themes start to interweave. Hunger combines folk and rock to create something that isn’t quite either but is its own, beautiful, unique creation. Hard Love is dreamy, layered and emotionally stirring. It provides the album’s cathartic climax before I Have A Light brings us a short, healing coda.
I’m so glad to have discovered Burs. Holding Patterns is such a beautifully captivating album that somehow achieves being both melancholy and uplifting. The mix of folk and rock on the record is like nothing I’ve heard before while also feeling reassuringly familiar. Yet, all the contradictions are simply swept away by the quality of the music.
You can check out the whole of Holding Patterns below.
