When I was a kid, I was fascinated by blacksmithing – specifically, the process of smithing a sword. I think I’d scoured one of those Eyewitness books they used to write about the most niche stuff . I knew everything, the kind of metals used, the techniques employed, the names of every kind of blade. What fascinated me most was the craftsmanship involved – there were just people whose entire job was creating something beautiful and precise. I often felt overwhelmed with admiration, completely in awe of how much a person must know to be able to work with such incredible skill. I feel a very similar kind of awe listening to Teeth of Time, the newest album from the ever-esteemed Joshua Burnside.
It’s not altogether surprising that I should think back to being a kid while listening to Teeth of Time; this very much seems to be Burnside’s intention. The birth of Burnside’s first child has sparked abundant inspiration, whether that’s looking back at one’s own childhood or looking forward to someone else’s. One broad example; Climb The Tower evokes everything that felt magical about childhood with relatively simple instrumentation, (this is extremely relative when discussing Joshua Burnside – that still means we have some impressively out-of-pocket arrangement and production) while The Ghost of the Bloomfield Road is a lyrical masterwork exploring the instant existentialism of your own flesh ‘n’ blood entering the world.
The welding together of polar concepts – the past and the future, the traditional and the experimental, honesty and obfuscation, life and death – is an art most beautifully demonstrated on Teeth Of Time. Sycamore Queen has the most overt production wizardry present on the album, yet the lyricism and melodies evoke a pagan-like reverence for nature. In The Silence Of utilises lo-fi, hip-hop styled drums to support a complex trad-style fiddle melody. Although already mentioned, The Ghost of the Bloomfield Road, despite its deathly title, is about reacting to new-born life.
In its determination to combine the diametric, you can feel such a sense of balance and care poured into this album. Every element feels weighed out and calculated exactly, every word and sound feels like furniture lovingly selected from a catalogue to complete a beloved room. The caliber of lyricism and composition involved is a very special, rare thing indeed. Dark wit blends with poetry to create a lyrical voice so clearly Joshua Burnside’s, you could tell this album was his from the lyrics alone.
I can’t forget to mention his literal voice; so distinctly accented and nimble, or his musical style that blends folk song writing with Irish Trad, coupled with an eclectic but recognisable array of influences. Fans of Elliot Smith, Nick Drake or Bon Iver may recognise the song writing or production influence, but songs like The Good Life bring in more sludgy, 90’s Seattle influences like Nirvana’s Unplugged album that you might not have expected. Regardless, these influences get put in the smelter and poured into a mold with Burnside’s name clearly imprinted.
With this in mind, there’s a wide range of sounds to be found on Teeth of Time. Up and Down or Good For One Thing are more typical, fingerpicked songs with the lyricism front and centre; Sycamore Queen, In The Silence Of and Ghost of the Bloomfield Road use much more production and electronic tones to tell their story, while The Good Life and Nothing Completed feature the full guitar, bass and drums band consistent with rock and indie. No matter the song, some things are always to be expected; lyricism, reverence for Irish tradition and curious experimentalism form the ground upon which every sound builds from with confidence in their foundations.
Phil Taggart described Joshua Burnside as “the best songwriter in Ireland right now, and probably beyond” and, while it feels reductive, I find myself nodding my head nonetheless. The level of skill, care and artistry that goes into every second of this album is unparalleled, emblematic of a true craftsman who takes sincere and uncynical pride in his work. Teeth of Time marks another illustrious chapter in a career that continues to impress and inspire across Ireland and far, far beyond.
