The last album release from Canada’s garage-folk oddballs The Burning Hell, touted as natural successors to the Silver Jews, was 2017’s Revival Beach. In his review of the album, Thomas Blake compared Revival Beach to their previous album Public Library, easily one of the best records of 2016. He states, “it is no less wise, funny or musically assured than its predecessor. Kom’s writing is a breath of fresh air, and I can think of few songwriters I’d rather spend the apocalypse with.”
Since that release, band members Mathias Kom and Ariel Sharratt offered us some needed respite with their lyrically rich Never Work. Again reviewed by Blake for Folk Radio, he concludes, “Never Work is by far Kom’s most impassioned and political lyrical statement to date. Augmented by Sharratt’s superb, understated singing and musicianship, it shows just how relevant protest music is, and how much fun it can be.”
While we have until next year to wait for their new record ‘Garbage Island’, they are releasing a digital single and 7″ Vinyl Single “Bird Queen Of Garbage Island” w/B-side “Birdhouse In Your Soul” (They Might Be Giants-cover) out on 3 December via BB*ISLAND.
Bird Queen Of Garbage Island showcases songwriter Mathias Kom’s typically irreverent, surrealist lyricism (and more Waterworld references than a Kevin Costner fan convention) over a musical landscape provided by bandmates Ariel Sharratt, Jake Nicoll, and Darren Browne, which combines a Tom Tom Club-style groove with an ASMR breakdown featuring office supplies and – fittingly – plenty of actual garbage. The accompanying video was created by the award-winning New Brunswick multi-media artist Graeme Patterson, and the single itself is being released also in the physical world on a limited edition 7” record (B-side: “Birdhouse In Your Soul”) with an accompanying comic book written for the project by the French graphic novelist and illustrator Emmanuel Moynot.
They are taking the full band on the road with them this autumn, playing songs from “Never Work,” and…new songs about birds and the apocalypse from their upcoming record, “Garbage Island” (due in summer 2022).
The Burnging Hell UK Tour Dates
Mon., 1.11. – Manchester – Night & Day*
Tue., 2.11. – Glasgow – Glad Café*
Wed., 3.11. – Newcastle – Cumberland Arms*
Thu., 4.11. – Ormskirk – Gallery Cafe*
Fri., 5.11. – Liverpool – Outpost*
Sat., 6.11. – Hebden Bridge – Trades Club*
Sun., 7.11. – Eaglescliffe – Eaglefest*
Mon., 8.11. – Nottingham – The Chameleon*
Tue. 9. 11. – Sheffield – Dorothy Pax (first)*
Wed., 10.11. – Sheffield – Dorothy Pax (second)*
Thu., 11.11. – Cardiff – Clwb Ifor Bach*
Fri., 12.11. – Brighton – Hope & Ruin*
Sat., 13.11. – Ramsgate – Ramsgate Music Hall*
Sun., 14.11. – London – The Lexington*
* support: Paper Beat Scissors
For tickets and full European dates, visit: https://bbislandmusic.com/tour-dates/2021/8/28/live-the-burning-hell-november-2021