Album Review: Matthew Burkhart, Slow Burn

It may be a brisk six-song EP but Slow Burn, the debut offering from Kitchener, Ontario singer/songwriter Matthew Burkhart, covers diverse musical ground, from a folky acoustic battle-cry (“Wind Song”) to a snarling rock stomper (“A Place in My Mind”). That range makes Burkhart hard to pigeonhole but open-minded listeners are well rewarded with a recording that never recedes into the ether. 

Written during a two-week COVID-19 quarantine in mid-March and then recorded in three days, with musical cohort Brandon Fehderau handling rhythm duties and with Burkhart on guitar and vocals, Slow Burn summons particular strength from the latter’s vivid lyrics, which paint the world in primary colours.

The booming, atmospheric “Volcano” —rather intriguingly described as “a metaphoric exploration into the powerful feeling of allowing yourself to love again” — emerges as an anthem of sorts, while the strummy, tuneful “Good Place to Start” could have been lifted straight from a Neil Finn solo album (Try Whistling This maybe?) which is indeed a very good place to start.

Slow Burn was released September 4, 2020.
Listen to it here.