Belfast-based folk singer-songwriter Joshua Burnside is no stranger to these pages, and it was only a matter of time before his reputation spread further afield, beyond home shores. News of his signing to the Nettwerk label seems to be the first of those giant steps and a well-deserved one at that.
David Weir, in his 2022 review of Late Afternoon in the Meadow (1887), noted how “Two years on from the aptly titled Into the Depths of Hell, we find Joshua Burnside plumbing those darkest chasms once more. Yet, on his latest EP, Late Afternoon in the Meadow (1887), there is also the pervading sense that the experimental folk singer is craning his neck to better make out the stars as well.” He later observes the growing awareness of his music, “…it seems more and more are waking up to Burnside’s sensitive songwriting talents.”
To mark his signing to Nettwerk, Burnside has released a double A-Side single, “Marching Round The Ladies / The Good Life”.
“Marching Round The Ladies” is described as an ode to the marching bands and traditional music of Joshua’s youth and is accompanied by a music video (watch below).
Burnside adds, “Marching Round the Ladies is my adaptation of an old Belfast street song for children. There would have been a dance to go along with it. I’ve changed the melody and added more verses, with nods to places that have been important to me over the years. The line about the Shankill and the Falls I added later, just as a bit of craic really. But the sentiment of those lyrics became the soul of the song, and has been really fun to sing. Especially in England.”
“The Good Life” sees Joshua explore the tongue-in-cheek nature of his new fatherhood. Pulling on nostalgic notes and imagery of listener and singer alike; falling asleep in the backseat as your dad plays his CDs in the front. Joshua’s hypnotic vocals and lullaby harmonies attempt to lull his new son to sleep as he laments his lack of freedom.
Joshua expands, “We’re told that if we get a good job, a house, a car and all the trappings of modern capitalist life, that we’ll be happy and safe. We build our lives about us, creating this complicated scaffolding to give us the illusion of stability. But when we’ve achieved many of these middle aged milestones only to feel more stressed, confused and anxious about the future, the relief brought on by a bottle of wine or a few pints in the evening can quickly become a crutch.”
Stream Marching Round The Ladies / The Good Life – https://joshuaburnside.ffm.to/mrtl_tgl
Joshua was also a guest in our Off the Shelf Series, in which we ask an artist to present objects from a shelf or shelves from their home and talk about them. Read it below: