Joshua Burnell: Flowers Where The Horses Sleep

Joshua Burnell – Flowers Where The Horses Sleep

Misted Valley Records (Distributed by Proper) – 4 September 2020

In the folk idiom, there is naturally a strong focus on artists who put the song front and centre. Quite rightly so, it is a storytelling tradition not built around stars or personalities but music. Music with its roots on full view with a strong tradition and history that demands participation, collaboration and interpretation to keep the form alive. I fully respect that but speaking as a hardcore, died-in-the-wool music obsessive I found my way to folk decades ago not through any great appreciation of traditional forms, far more because, as a song writing fan, I loved to hear raw acoustic settings and intimate performances and so delved deeper into folky type players. For me though, music was always an entertainment and an art form rather than an academic exercise and so, when I find an artist like Joshua Burnell, who it seems to make music with the same intent, I have to sit up and take notice.

There are two things that jump out at you about Joshua immediately; one is that he has no desire to work in any one genre of music, for him all forms are very much all part of the same creative process. Secondly, he definitely is motivated to entertain, provoke thought and even confuse a little. Take a look at the package of this, his brand-new album released this month. Found inside a glorious front cover, depicting a Bambi-like-scene of a rifle-toting man aiming fire at a brace of deer (see what I mean, beautiful and disturbing in equal measure) we find the man himself, literally blending himself in with the cover theme. In a shot that reminds me of an alien viral infection engulfing a desperate victim in early seventies Doctor Who, Joshua is seen with that same woodland area depicted on Hari and Deepti’s front cover spreading up his face and hands. That really is throwing it all in for the sake of your art, the kind of effort we used to take for granted when coming from a Rock or Prog giant like Bowie or Gabriel, but it’s far less common in the folk world. And it certainly marks Joshua Burnell out as a serious artist in every respect.

Obviously, none of this would matter a jot if the music does not hold up, but there are no concerns on this front either. The creation and spirit of exploration that the cover promises are more than realised in the musical content. I certainly stall at announcing this as a folk album. There are elements for sure, he’s a proven track record which his 2018 ‘Songs From The Seasons’ project definitively demonstrated and there’s a track here called ‘Joan Of The Greenwood’ that Joshua describes as his “latest attempt at writing a pastiche on traditional English folk songs”. But there is so much more going on, I would argue that folk is his launchpad, so maybe this is progressive folk perhaps? Or modern traditional? Contemporary vintage? You really cannot pigeonhole this but then why bother trying? The unpredictable nature of the song cycle, the magical little sonic and textural surprises are all part of the appeal and at the centre of it all is the mysterious Mr Burnell, an enigmatic bundle of thoughts and energy.

The album was completed just in time, with work completed in February this year just before the world went into lockdown. It’s a full band production, with eight musicians credited in the liner notes and a mouth-watering combination of sounds including electric guitars, strings, fiddles, melodeon, upright bass, drums and gang vocals. That aforementioned disregard for boundaries and compartmentalisation is addressed directly on opening number ‘Labels’. Inspired by an Ian McKellen quote in which he stated, “the only label any of us needs is our name”, Joshua ushers the album in on a gently lilting note, with lush fiddles and a measured vocal performance.

Burnell has stated that this ten-track album was inspired by people both present and past, in honour of “humankinds’ remarkable ability to find beauty, even in the hardest times”. And so, two songs in and we are transported back to Arthurian times and the legend of shape shifting sorceress Morgan Le Fey. Joshua recognises in his detailed sleeve notes that ‘Le Fay’ manipulated beauty for her own ends. I’d say if you’re going to dive into a character from Arthurian stories she is certainly one of the most mysterious subjects, the perfect character for Joshua to honour in song as she seemed to cross between the poles of good and evil with savage abandon. Set that aside though and I have to flag up that ‘Le Fay’ is a recording in which this artists widescreen musical ambitions nail their colours to the mast. This is an epic track, held taut by a pounding piano, the drums march and the vocals switch between reaching for the skies and claustrophobic isolation. As elongated electric guitars soar and the melody shoots high and low, I am reminded a little of Kate Bush and Gilmour fronted Pink Floyd. Yes indeed, that is the kind of epic we are listening to here, but if you’re going to shoot high you may as well go for the best and Joshua is making quite the serious statement of intent here.

19^th Century Cambridgeshire convict Mark Jeffrey’s story is told in song next. Written with the urgent need-to-know vigour of a Broadside ballad, there’s whistle worthy hooks and character detail aplenty to be enjoyed here as Joshua once more adds extra colour in the inner booklet; “Mark Jeffery came face to face with the devil himself whilst working as a gravedigger. And now he has his own ballad, What a guy!” We’re back on more earthly terrain with ‘Invisible Wings’, a heartfelt acoustic hymn to “inspirational families”. But Joshua can’t bolt down his overactive imagination for long as next he arrives at an unlikely scenario (depicted in part on the cover art) where’s he’s locking eyes with a running frightened doe having chanced upon two sinister figures holding rifles whilst exploring a ruined fortress near Yorkshire’s Harewood House. This is based on a real life occurrence with his partner Fe, whose presence in the fantastical scene is represented by some gorgeous singing by Frances Sladen, although typically for Joshua he is recounting it as a picture book scene from some time honoured fairy-tale.

It should be noted that Joshua is also a multi-instrumentalist, which accounts for some of the more startling shifts in shape and style he can execute with ease. ‘Let Me Fall Down’ sees him uncovering his inner Billy Joel on a Steinway Grand Piano and boy can he pound some drama into those keys. ‘Outside’ revisits the heartfelt piano and acoustic guitar balladeer mode, meditating on “when you would do anything to help the ones you love”. ‘Look At Us Now’ is the albums second transportation ballad (the other being ‘The Ballad Of Mark Jeffrey’), this time envisioning an Elon Musk-like future where humans are inhabiting another planet. The piano is once again played with a real classicist’s theatricality on the closing number ‘Two Stars’, it makes you think that Joshua probably has enough in his locker to write a stage musical one day. In essence, I think what I admire the most about Joshua Burnell is that he’s fighting the good fight for all us folk lovers, taking risks and boldly reaching out to grab the attention and imagination of more than just our, already won, community. The method in his ambition is creating brilliant accessible music, bursting at the seams with ideas, imagery and an assured ability with melody and song structure, I sincerely hope that he catches the ears of many more people going forward. Outstanding.