Greg Freeman
Tuesday, September 02, 19:30adv £15.90
Greg Freeman thrives on finding emotional catharsis and present day resonance in the eccentric ugliness of the past. His songs all have a palpable sense of place thanks to his urgent delivery and evocative lyricism, which mines history for character-driven tales of violence, loss, and epiphany. On his second LP, Burnover , out August 22 via Canvasback Music/Transgressive Records, the Maryland - born, Burlington, Vermont - based artist uses the complicated backdrop of the Northeast to sing of grief, alienation, and the clarity that comes from opening up yourself to love.
Explos ive, unsettling, and undeniable, the 10 tracks here meld energetic indie rock with an ambling twang. It’s Freeman’s most adventurous and personal yet, cementing him as a singular songwriting talent.
When Freeman quietly released his debut LP I Looked Out in 2022, it had no PR campaign, label, or music industry promo, but still received raves from Stereogum and Uproxx. The word - of - mouth success of that release had Freeman on a relentless tour schedule.
An itinerant lifestyle from ceaseless long drives made him think about home and his role in it. “I was trying to make an album about where I live, without specifically writing about myself and my immediate surroundings,” says Freeman. Driving around Vermo nt, he’d pass by the birthplaces of Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, and Ethan Allen, the Revolutionary War figure and state icon. “I was drawn to these slightly tragic regional figures who helped me understand the culture of that area even today,” he says.
Burnover borrows its title from "The Burned - Over District," a term used to describe parts of central and western New York that became hotbeds of fervent religious revival and utopian communities during the early 19th century. “There was this period where there’s al l this psychedelic, religious movement coinciding with the territorial expansion,” says Freeman, citing Jack Kelly’s Heaven’s Ditch as well as Louise Glück, Grace Paley, Jim Thompson and Emily Dickinson’s writings as inspirations. On the album, there’s a sense that danger or revelation lurks behind every corner. It opens with the foreboding “Point and Shoot,” where he sings, “But I was lost like a little child / In a wilderness where the West was way too wild.” It’s a livewire track, with tangible momentum and an expansive arrangement.
When Freeman was touring I Looked Out, he revamped his live setup as a five - piece where he was the only guitar player. He took that mindset to Burnover , which he recorded with Benny Yurco, drummer Zack James (Dari Bay, Robber Robber) and Freeman’s live band, at Benny Yurco’s Little Jamaica Recordings in Burlington. “I wanted to write songs that were fun and challenging to play on guitar, and maybe had a little more movement,” he says. Songs like “Gone (Can Mean a Lot of Things)” burst with intensity and Freeman’s guitars envelop the track with crunch and winding leads. But Burnover shines when Freeman tweaks the formula, like on “Curtain.” Originally demoed as a meandering guitar jam, the track came to life when pianist Sam Atallah tracked a tack - piano take at the studio. His lively leads invigorate the song, especially as Freeman sings lines like, “My thoughts die out slowly on the blood swept plains where I see you every night / And to the lonely hours, it’s like burning the furniture to keep the Greg Freeman, Burnover - Josh Terry-2.pdf
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