Description
If Youre Dreaming was tracked with producer Sam Evian in his home studio in the Catskill mountains of upstate New York. Where the first album had been a rush of inspired songwriting followed by a drawn-out process of arrangement and mixing, Burch and Evian worked with self-imposed time limitations to establish a sharper focus and get to the core of the new songs. The work was swift but somehow more relaxed, locking into a groove of tracking the basic elements and then expanding on the arrangements with overdubs and auxiliary instrumentation. The end goal was to present not just an assortment of new songs but craft an album that moved dynamically through an interconnected emotional arc.
With recurring themes of isolation, weariness and longing, these songs deliver that emotional arc with a delicate but uncompromising execution. Burchs intrinsically catchy songwriting dials down the urgency of her debut a notch, taking a turn towards airy, jazz-voiced chords, floating reverb and an expansion of the sonic palate with unexpected instrumentation. The soft-rock bass grooves and understated saxophone lines of Not So Bad push an impressive pop structure into exciting new territory and the sweetly melancholic Tell Me Whats True centres around muted electric piano, its languid but metered vibe recalling the gentler side of Carole King.
The nuance of arrangements that could sometimes get buried on debut Quit The Curse rises to the surface on patient, opulent tunes like Every Feeling and in the twelve-string guitar hooks of Partys Over. The album drifts dreamily as much as it hones in with a sharper clarity on some of Burchs most personal songs.
Even at its most introverted, If Youre Dreaming is always warm and present. Its a deliberately drawn chapter of Burchs work, trading in the wild-eyed and sometimes neurotic party hopping of Quit The Curse for a more solitary walk after midnight. Daring and clearheaded, these songs cut deeper in their subtleties. If Youre Dreaming moves with intention, taking its time revealing new layers of sophistication and growth in Burchs always charming songcraft.
Initial LP pressing on purple vinyl with digital download code in spot varnish sleeve.
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