This One Time, On Bandcamp: Owlsley Burroughs
We're back with another slice of under-appreciated independent goodness to add to your list!
In case you missed last week's introduction, we're doing a new thing each week at The Music that involves elevating an under-appreciated, little-known independent Australian act with a dedicated plugging of their goods, as discovered on Bandcamp.
It's not because anyone's paying us or we're following the pull of popular sentiment or whatever; just because this country is overflowing with truly excellent musicians that don't get an adequate look-in on larger platforms on account of all the big-money (and/or big-name) weight being thrown around the wider industry on a daily basis.
With the help of our dedicated readers (send your submissions this way), we're compiling a list of some of Australia's finest, hardest-working, yet still unheralded artists doing the rounds, and we'll bring you a new name each week in this series to keep on broadening your musical horizons, because that's just what we do.
This is This One Time, On Bandcamp. It's for you. We hope you enjoy.
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owlsley burroughs — melbourne, victoria
It's doubtful that there's any sight in music more overdone than a man standing alone with a guitar, and yet it's a set-up that has perhaps persisted for yielding an unreasonably high amount of well-crafted, introspective songwriting in those who pursue the format. At least partially, the frequency of success could arguably be due to the fact that a lot of those artists who end up pursuing the archetype — that of the statuesque troubadour, needing little more than six strings and a few swigs of nearby spirits to ply their craft — have usually spent time cutting their teeth and stretching their wings in other collaborative efforts before finding their feet as solo performers.
Such is the case for enigmatic solo artist Owlsley Burroughs — a Melbourne musician with a penchant for personal narratives, intelligent lyricism and minimalist soundscapes — who has leveraged his early experience with old band Hoopiron and electronic project The Legionnaires into a charming mash of alternative/pop/lo-fi/indie/experimental tunes that, over the course of his output, paints a picture that ultimately comes off as a little bit Bob Dylan, a little bit alt-country, a little House Of Brothers, a little Iron & Wine, and even a little Morrissey, if Morrissey had a sense of levity about himself. Or anything.
This eclectic aesthetic and sense of finding more out of less is on its fullest display on Burroughs' new album, A Rain-Racked Hall, released just a couple of weeks ago, on 11 February. It's a more stripped-back affair than his previous efforts, but that's by necessity as much as any organic progression — he had returned to Melbourne after several years abroad in London, having sold pretty much all his possessions (save for two guitars, which he'd kept in storage).
The result is an expertly crafted shifting of aural sands that never makes itself loud or obnoxious but nonetheless has no trouble at all keeping its listeners at active attention throughout its 12 tracks. It's a fine latest chapter in a refreshingly diverse catalogue, which started with 2013's Backburnerism and takes in three more albums and a compilation of early works (released just before A Rain-Racked Hall — meaning two of Burroughs' most disparate releases stand side-by-side in the chronology.
As prolific a force as he appears to be, Burroughs' social media presence is even more underground than he is, if it exists at all — so if you're interested in supporting the troubadour, head to his Bandcamp page to check out his full gamut of releases or see the individual links and tracks below to get a better read on his sonic trajectory for yourself.
Releases
Got an independent, unsigned band? Got a Bandcamp page (because the title really doesn't work without it)?
Let us know if you want us to listen to your tunes, and you might get featured in a future edition of This One Time, On Bandcamp! Let's take the power back and celebrate the unheralded heroes of the Aussie music scene together.
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