IN HIS debut album Absence, out this week, Scotsman Ryan Joseph Burns soulfully croons into his harmonica, an unaffected, impassioned glimpse into the lovesick and forlorn psyche of a 20-something musician. He deftly, effortlessly, surpasses the notion of a characteristic Dylanesque harmonica-playing guitarist; he surmounts the simplicity of his songs, complicating them in his performance style with raw, true, hard emotionality.
Ryan Joseph Burns
His voice, complementary to his guitar and harmonica (and inarguably his strongest instrument), carries his lyrics to a place beyond immediate resonance. One scarcely notices the literalness – his stories, plots and choruses are un-metaphoric, completely digestible – for it is mindfully drowned in romantic, melodic musicality. The effect is hypnosis, with Burns intentionally guiding us – with his vocals, guitar, poetry, and presence – down a lovely rabbit-hole of blithely sensuous, love-wanting, nostalgia.
Burns is one to watch – and to listen to. His album Absence can be found on Spotify and iTunes.
