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Winston-Salem.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
From 'Whiskey and Apples' :
"W-S Burn is one of those groups you hear ten weird stories about long before you meet them..."
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From 'Spinning On Air', WNYC, by David Garland :
"Simultaneously stark, intense, warm, and involving, the Tennessee-based duo W-S Burn make a special visit to New York to play on Spinning On Air. Steve plays guitar (acoustic and electric), and Pixie sings. She also strings metal and glass chimes from the shade of a floor lamp, which then serves as both illumination and percussion for their performance. W-S Burn have put out a few hand-made, lo-fi CDR releases, but host David Garland wants to give them more exposure, and to see what happens when the group's sharply focused, highly emotional songs meet up with WNYC's hi-fi microphones."
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From 'The Portland Mercury', 'Hot and Homeless in Love, The W-S Burn Story', by Red Hunter :
"Steve and Pixie, the two members of Knoxville's W-S Burn, are a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde. For a while now they've lived off radar for reasons we won't print; they got married on the run, they travel in a whale of a van, and the lifestyle suits them perfectly. So far they've released five glorious lo-fi recordings, and only after endless pleading from folks like Weird Weeds frontman Nick Hennies have they finally recorded something on actual microphones in Austin, which will be released soon.
Guitarist Steve Gigante describes their very earliest recording, 2004's 'Candy Striper', as 'hot and homeless Summer in the van, all first takes, left in the mistakes , cheapest Radio Shack hand-held cassette recorder they have ($25, batteries included), wandering around Kroger supermarkets at 3am eating the free samples, recording in their parking lots, in the park, parked on the side of the road, in love'.
The four albums that followed fit the same mold : lo-fi, trippy as hell, dark, gorgeous songs that sound like ghosts wandering the forest. And the ghost voice belongs to Pixie, the enigmatic singer/writer of these melodies (who recently found out she has perfect pitch despite no formal musical training).
I was able to speak with them from the road on their current tour, right after they left Texas. 'Texas has the most insane drivers per capita of any state in the Union', Steve said. 'No fucking contest. I believe it's because they are being subconsciously chased by the tortured ghosts of death-row victims and the very excited, excitable, and exciting Angels of the Apocalypse. Just a theory, mind you'.
Pixie captured the life of DIY touring weirdos pretty well, too. 'The road has been great', she wrote. 'We only had to sleep outside twice so far, once at a baseball field, and the other time on the ledge of the Lawrence Public Library until it began to rain, then we moved onto the porch of the Little Theatre. Most excited about new ecosystems; went tubing for the first time today, saw a muskrat... Being on the road allows for a spiritual opening that is not so easy in a stationary environment', she added."
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Stylus Magazine Review of 'Tightrope Walker' by Bryan Berge :
"Usually when a collection of hushed, blues-haunted songs crops up, the specter of authenticity hounds the performer. What grants said contempoarary artist access to archaic American musical forms? Have they spent time in shacks and stills of Appalachia? Have they washed themselves in the Mississippi's delta mud? And even if they had done all of this and more, if they showed up for a press junket clean-shaven and chipper, the same fears would rise again.
Authenticity is a difficult concept to even articulate, and a much more difficult goal to achieve. I suspect that it's merely an artificial barrier erected to separate American icons from a newer crowd. America, after all, is a might young country, and our musical legends - at least those who were recorded - didn't die that long ago, and thus don't have the instant legitimacy granted by the accumulated dust of time. So we jealously guard the music of our forebearers, ensuring the integrity of their creations so that Americans can have icons of our own.
But authenticity isn't really a concern when you're living out of a van, as
W-S Burn's Amanda Beddard and Steve Gigante did for some time. The skeletal blues figures floating from Gigante's guitar and Beddard's high-wire vocals don't strike one as an aesthetic pose, a stylish artifice fusing different, carefully chosen inluences. Their music is simply the most appropriate and honest sound to capture a feeling of exile, desolation, and repeated heartbreak.
Indeed honesty is at the heart of 'Tightrope Walker', the third release from this Knoxville, TN duo. Beddard's direct, confessional lyrics, and the tape-womb ambience (enhanced by the generous space afforded by Gigante's sparse guitar work) of cheap recording equipment create an intimate space for performer and listener. On 'Tightrope Walker', Beddard seems completely unprotected by the recording. This album draws the listener from one bedroom to another - to an apartment-cum-studio with the shades drawn, where the obstructed afternoon peeking under the blinds glints off knick knacks and glows with an amber hue that renders the most mundane gesture or sound eternal, beautiful and nostalgic, a soft moment cast in a brilliant fossil of late light.
The title track opens the album with a sigh, and the volume of the recording rarely rises above such murmurs of quiet, savage emotion. At times, tape hiss threatens to drown Beddard completely. But it never does. In fact, one gets the sense, that for all her vulnerability, Beddard makes a habit of overcoming challenges to her spirit.
From the start, Beddard's vocals dominate the record. And justifiably so - her voice is remarkable, pure-toned and versatile. It conveys a wealth of dignity and loneliness. For the sake of comparison, think of the operatics of Josephine Foster, only a little more soothing and seething. The lyrics on 'Tightrope Walker' are taught and evocative, if not ace poetry, but Beddard could sing the ingredients off the back of a box of mac-and-cheese and keep my attention.
The power of her vocals is made most clear on "I Remember You", a track with a chorus consisting of those three words, softly cooed to rich, crushing effect. Gigante's thoughtful melody and violin swells from Marcelle Good accent the song, but it could very well have been a cappella.
Gigante plays a secondary role in W-S Burn, but his understatement is essential. Any ham-fisted gesture would crush music this fragile. Luckily Gigante is a sensitive, sympathetic guitarist. His playing is fluid and intuitive, following the nuances of Beddard's voice with modest grace.
With all the emphasis on Beddard, she carries a considerable burden on 'Tightrope Walker'. Whenever she wanders - which happens every so often - the space of the record feels like emptiness, the sparse acoustic melodies suddenly seem to vanish, and the song lapses into vocal meanderings. This bogs down "Baby Girl", "Mismatched Spoons", and "Dionysus" but the album is otherwise free of duds.
By the end of the album, one begins to care a great deal for Beddard. We see a barefoot dreamer in a thrift-store dress, hitching a ride out of a dead-end hometown, and we naturally want things to work out for her. Thus the hopeful, jaunty closer, "Time to Leave the Ball", is doubly uplifting. Beddard, Gigante, Good and the listener seated beside them all leave satisfied, ready for another brush with romantic disaster in the balmy Knoxville night." OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
From Popsheep :
"I have this fascination with this thing. I'm not sure how to describe it but it is the thing that is present in found photographs, ... which were created without thought of art or display. I find a similar quality attractive in musicians that seem to be making music for their own reasons. I can acknowledge that some desire to share their creations is complicit in the act of recording and making their songs available, but it seems to be a truly different experience.
When I first heard W-S Burn (at the time going by the Paper Dolls) I had that feeling that I was sitting with my ear against the heat vent as the tenant above whispered secrets. I couldn't help but wonder who she was. And where did this come from. The curiosity became too much and I e-mailed "Pixie" asking if she would be willing to do an interview. I did not get a reply.
(Song : "Mother")
During the first minute of the song her voice is just accompanied by the hiss of the tape, it is difficult to tell what is worbling more, her voice or the tape. I guess she could be described as a blues musician. The album ('Candy Striper') has an infectious sadness, which is why I'd file it under blues." XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Show Review from Perambulating the Bounds :
"W-S Burn played in Nashville Friday. They're based in Knoxville and play lo-fi, seemingly off-hand music that is deceptively tight. The group is 'Pixie' Beddard, Steve Gigante, and Marcelle Good. Steve on acoustic guitar, Pixie singing and playing a lamp rigged up with bells, Marcelle playing fiddle and a kid's xylophone. A lot of the music is incredibly simple, a single guitar line played over and over, a few fiddle lines, and Pixie singing, but it is patient and finely tuned. The players react to each other very intuitively. One part might seem out there on its own in a spot, but then one or both of the others will come in effortlessly in a harmonized way, as if they were just waiting for the other line to get there. Actually, that's probably what's going on.
Pixie has this floor lamp with a big old shade that she's hung with bells and wind chimes. She can turn the lamp shade and everything will start tinkling, or rock it back and forth, or just ring one or another chime. It seems sort of haphazard, except it always fits. It's also a way in which the group is very visually engaging. There was a ladder in the performance space, and Pixie started out sitting on the top rung, leaning over onto her knees, sort of singing into her folded up body. Later she climbed down and sat on one of the lower steps. She's got curly red hair, striking looking, and she moves very fluidly. Even before their set, when they were watching John Allingham play some solo stuff, she was sitting on the floor, and she rolled over in this perfectly smooth motion to sit next to Steve. Movement was also part of the playing for Steve and Marcelle. They dropped foot stomps as percussive accents, and Marcelle would extend a leg out in front of her like an extension of the sound.
Most of the songs were slow and subdued, and many are quite pretty in conventional ways. One more energetic one was a complex hocket of intersecting guitar strumming, fiddle notes, guitar body taps, and foot stomps. I heard some field recordings today on the radio that reminded me of it, a construction made up of rough pieces assembled with a great balance between loose and tight. Breath and cohesion.
I've got one of their recordings on, and it is definitely lo-fi. Some cuts have lots of background or machine noise. In the show, bumps from moving the ladder or the freight trains two blocks away just seemed to flow right into the mix, even on the quiet, thoughtful songs. The lo-fi recording puts it in the territory of Jolie Holland (especially that first album, 'Catalpa') as do some of Pixie's vocal qualities, although she does a little more extreme things with her voice at times. Like Holland, for some listeners, the lo-fi quality may mask fundamentally competent musicianship. But it's there. All around, and not just Pixie. Marcelle's violin playing was just right, on the money without seeming cold or excessively technical. There was more messiness in Steve's guitar playing at times, but he always came back to ground in ways that gave you a lot of confidence in the music, that reflected intent and structure. For both Marcelle and Steve the music demanded restraint at times, to play its simple lines steadily.
I don't see why these guys couldn't be pretty popular, sort of like Devendra Banhardt , start out playing places like 310 Chestnut and then progress up the venue food chain, up to a point. Maybe they'll decide they don't want that." OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Whiskey and Apples Review of 'Candy Striper' by Red Hunter :
"The tape hisses, a guitar strikes one note at a time like a funeral dirge, and then her dark melody begins. In the background you can hear a distant church bell ring three times and it's not some post-production trick. The first track on W-S Burn's 'Candy Striper' is pure songwriting ecstacy, undiluted by any studio decisions, ideal for late night listening and downtime. The second track, "Spring Comes", allows vocalist Pixie to really soar out over Steve's repeating patterns. I can not wait to see this stuff happen live.
Since every track on this album is really worth examining and writing about, I'm going to have to skip a few to keep this concise. On track ten ("Alleyway") Pixie sings an unaccompanied song that begins, "I fell for a street boy today", and later, "I won't let you have me in the alleyway where we know Dolores and Tom did it yesterday". The eleventh and final song ("Books Are Great!") is also unaccompanied, she sings, "Hand me the remote control so I can let my hopes down gently".
But it's the fourth track, "Mother", that remains my favorite W-S Burn song of the three albums they were kind enough to send me. Part of its brilliance is the fact that Pixie sings an unaccompanied introduction for a minute fifteen seconds before Steve's guitar joins her, pitch-perfect, and together their ballad winds along, "I don't want to live in a place that stares me down", and later, "You just know when something is over". Such sadness there, but somehow it's made sublime with melodies so gorgeous.
W-S Burn is quickly becoming one of my favorite music projects in the world today, and I wish them the best of luck in this tough world." XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Review of 'Two Dreams Tucked in Tight' from 'The Unbroken Circle' (UK) :
"Carrying on the simple approach are W-S Burn on 'Two Dreams Tucked in Tight'. Just guitar and voice recorded directly into a microphone with background noise, hiss, and the movement of air all caught and seeming integral to the music. This is intimate, heartfelt music that the mainstream seems to have lost the imagination to allow. Here, it is about the connection, the directness of the songs coming out to you. Almost painful to hear, in allowing so far into their personality, into the very room they are in. Sometimes small music has the biggest impact." OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Automatically Translated from 'Holmi, the Blog" (France) :
"It is time to lay our cigarettes in ashtrays and extinguish some embers born recently on this blog. Brulons rather our time to the discovery of artists, professionalism, unpretentious, just for fun. Consummez then without moderation this artist unknown (too) : W-S Burn.
W-S Burn offers by chance my way to her blues, his calm, his gentleness and I would like to share it. Amanda Beddard (aka 'Pixie'), and his voice will not be without us recall some tunes at the Scout Niblett, Jana Hunter or White Magic (wish, it will tell you about this marvel also a day). With a microphone and recordings often filthy, found in its securities sincerity voluptuous, almost secret, a priceless value. Difficult to find information about this Texas singer, and hope it will one day consummer his compositions in our rooms, lights are even better off..." XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Review of 'One Egg's Way of Becoming Other Eggs' by George Miller :
"Oh my God, the last song ("Something Borrowed") is over six minutes long! A post-punk rock no no. Oh, but the grip of the phrase, "He never got past my cheek", three minutes in and I am still interested in what is essentially a power ballad. Somehow the song passes by without disdainful memories of Nelson or Poison's "Every Rose Has its Thorn". Magic. A rabbit out of the toilet. Nevertheless track eight ("The Inverted Color Wheel of Love") is the one I will constantly replay. An absolute charm, beginning with a country style chord play and a little angel voice "thinking", "dreaming", "singing about"...something. Perhaps the suspense would have been best left alone. But a woeful answer comes, to my regret - "you". It's a love song! Damn. Oh well, it is forgivable and quickly smoothed over by a delightful fiddle and then it starts over. A damn good song by any standard.
Basically, I would have to say W-S Burn is good old-fashioned blues. 'One Egg's Way of Becoming Other Eggs', like most of their other releases, has the distant, lonesome tone of a poor child locked in a cellar. This is mostly due to the method of recording - with just a handheld device. Lo-fi, I think they call it. By industry standards it is pathetic. However, when I do imagine the songs with a studio sound, the clarity of pleasant happenings that I've heard during their live performances dances in my head. BUT, the lonely cellar girl image disappears, along with all her charm. I like this CD the way it is. Lo-fi music has always been one of my personal favorite sounds and W-S Burn has done well with it. Even though there is not much to manipulate, the quality of recording has improved and I look forward to hearing their next move." OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Automatically Translated Review of 'One Egg's Way...' from 'Microphones in the Trees!' :
"'Oh sometimes your face just glows, I'd pick you if you were a rose'. With this sentence and a whistle W-S Burn say hello to us in its fourth disc. Again recorded in a four new tracks and hidden under a wrapper story. Amanda Beddard ('Pixie') and Steve Giants are another of those couples agraciadas, type Kath Bloom and Loren Mazzacane Connors, compensate lightness instrumental thanks to a complicity, it is now capable of sealing any cracks. The fact that we have managed their discs in a trailer hidden in the forests of Knoxville determines a sound that reminds the race recordings, recordings of blues or folk countryside where squeal, crickets, tapes or vinyl cracks are as important as the voices or guitars. Still singing to the need to be free, to the leaves of trees, the dreams are fulfilled and not, the fingers are crossed hoping that the destination change, the tears sprang from not find God more when you need to love Johnny Cash or where appropriate and makes you laugh. The path is cuelan mini arrangements rope, a flute, bells, smiles and the feeling of having found the light can brighten any side despite the darkness.
File Under : more than just a record - a climate"
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From Dusted Magazine feature, 'Listed', by Nick Hennies :
"We (The Weird Weeds) played five shows in a row with W-S Burn ('W-S' being an abbreviation for Winston-Salem) in January but I was convinced they were one of the best bands in the world after the first 30 seconds of the first night. Amanda Beddard (voice) and Steve Gigante (acoustic guitar) had a bar full of noisy Nashvillians dead silent within seconds of taking the stage. This was the scene every night, and in St. Louis Amanda singing, "I love my Dad / even though it makes my Mother sad", turned out to be the most overwhelming performance I've seen in years. It seems obvious, but sometimes I need to be reminded that the most effective way to say what you mean is to... uh... say what you mean. W-S Burn play with such honesty and conviction that it would be impossible to ignore them. Because of somewhat questionable production values their CDs don't effectively illustrate what a jewel this band truly is, but the CDs are well worth hearing even if they don't quite measure up to seeing the band live. If anything, get them for the gorgeous packaging. Setting fire to your hometown never sounded so good." OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Show Review 1 from Pataphysics-Lab :
"i dunno. funny when w-s burn set up they put this lamp on stage and turned the lights a little low. i joked that, "hey, maybe they'll play the lamp!". well shit, it was covered in wind chimes. they did play it! w-s burn is steve gigante and i don't know her name... but it's funny... they started... well, she started with this sort of lone voice that stumbled a couple bits to figure the right balance for feedback and so on, but the song bird nature just quieted the room. seriously, i heard the freakin' bar's phone ring. it was pin drop quiet in there... even with a decent crowd. it was kind of amazing in this girlwonder crooning. and the second song started and he finally started playing very simply. i was reminded of patty waters or erica pomerance... sort of that jazzy/folk vocals thing down ESP-disk lane. she hit chimes here and there. very casually. she spun this chime during the second song and it just ebbed and flowed. i think she hypnotized us. it was nuts. funny to go from kind of hating the music (of the opening band) to totally adoring it. as their set went on i got more and more tired of it... but the last few songs they closed with, the last song especially was spectacularly poetic in a surreal sort of way whereas other songs felt much more standard and monologue-ish. definitely rad. and steve was very subdued and played a very nice little accompaniment. no tricks. no whistles. just good notes. my other image of steve is in seven year rabbit cycle when he's holding like 3 sticks in each hand just pummeling the hell out of a snare drum. it's good to see folks that are larger than life on occasion. (objects may appear larger than they actually are of course... corona+lime = "ROCKA NDROLL!")" XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Show Review 2 from Pataphysics-Lab :
"after the party got started, w-s burn had an uphill climb from where they started. the bar did not want to hush and they almost demand hushing with her lacy free croon mature woman poet thing. these guys rule, but tonight it was painful slightly. the highlights were when the guitarist (steve of various other wonderful bands) and the violinist (who wasn't with them last time) really turned the noisy drone scrapings upward. it's impressive also when a band turns the tempo up and does it well... and does it with such interesting sounds. it's more impressive when they are sorta reaching the 'yawn' part of the set and then they floor most of the crowd with these changes. people walking away turned right back around and gawked. it was great. it sounded great as well. victims of a pairing i think. her voice is strange and i could see a few around me initially taking issue with it or laughing and walking away. it's a fragile croon that can soothe or rub depending. the jackassery of your average showgoer, especially in a town full of center-of-attention wannabes that have no show manners, can be a cruel beast to a delicate thing." OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Foxy Digitalis Review of "Peek-a-Boo" :
"Beautiful but brief, this fifth release by W-S Burn is one fifteen minute track that packs in quite a few haunting ideas. Guitar and harmonium add a delicate blanket for ghostly vocals that drift in and out of the mix. Droning with a warmth and quiet passion that at times can be described as smoldering, this CD-R makes for a deep listen, and leaves you wanting more. It would be interesting to see if they could keep up such depth on a full length release." XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Homestead Records Review of "Peek-a-Boo" :
"This recording sounds like an art exhibition or a contemporary stage theatre improvisation, with sitting-on-airbags jumps of harmonium, double layered song improvisations, with a wind-like droning sound, going on for ever and ever, like lonely cries in dark skies, with vague, slightly blurring together harmonies of acidic ethereal expressions penetrating into the desolation of this self-enclosing landscape." OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
"Peek-a-Boo" Blurb from Time-Lag Records :
"This release is a one track, fifteen minute musical journey with absolutely gorgeous and heartbreaking vocals which float on an instrumental architecture of guitar and harmonium. W-S Burn suspend time , allowing the listener to be transported to that rarefied space (called by writer Donald Keller, "the still point') where pure musical vibration envelopes the listener in deep bliss..." XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Peek-a-Boo" makes Nick Hennies' Top Ten of 2007 :
"While this brief album contains only one song, it has more than an album's worth of musical and emotional depth. What I've come to know as the definitive and quintessential W-S Burn song exists in several recorded versions and no finite live version, its duration ranging anywhere from seven minutes to half an hour. No matter how long or short, "Peek-a-Boo" is a sprawling epic of a song, certainly a standout among a shockingly consistent and breathtaking catalogue of songs.
With this particular release W-S Burn have finally found the perfect balance between lo-fi and studio, which is particularly satisfying on a personal level as I've always struggled to reconcile the band's crisp and stunning live performances with the sometimes questionable fidelity of their cassette recordings.
'Peek-a-Boo' is a haunting and utterly beautiful recording that has endless depths to explore as well as a startling immediacy." OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Show Review, Austin Chronicle, by Audra Schroeder :
"Knoxville duo and Weird Weeds touring partners W-S Burn kicked off the show with their spare wooze. Singer Amanda Beddard's knockout voice filled every inch of the room as she spun a rickety lamp adorned with dream catchers and wind chimes. Their sound took some getting used to; it was almost like we were watching someone summon a ghost in a David Lynch movie." XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
More from Audra Schroeder in the Austin Chronicle :
"The first time I saw W-S Burn was last summer and I couldn't decide if I liked them. Perhaps it was the wind chime/lamp contraption singer Amanda Beddard (aka 'Pixie') was spinning on stage as she sang. (I have an undiagnosed fear of wind chimes that stems from a childhood accident.) But, damn, she had an amazing voice.
I saw them again last month at the Parlor, and I confronted my fear. The duo - with Brother JT collaborator Steve Gigante live in Knoxville, TN. For the past three years they've been playing as W-S Burn ('W-S' stands for Winston-Salem, which is where Beddard is from), spinning blues and folk into Southern gothic, and releasing a handful of home recordings that literally sound haunted. Beddard's voice ramps from purr to howl, and the lamp-chime only makes it (more) affecting. Truly engaging to watch." OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
From the 'Knoxville Voice':
"Former Knoxvillians and current Godknowswherians Steve Gigante and the Artist Currently Known as Pixie (Amanda to prospective employers) return to town briefly after a too long absence. The duo performed frequently as W-S Burn (with sometime-member Marcelle Good), Gigante’s somber electric folk guitar and Pixie’s piercing, lifting vocals casting a darkly beautiful spell over audiences that held their breath so as not to disturb the mood. Amanda’s standing lamp converted into a percussive windchime instrument adds a lilting, dreamy touch to it all. They share a peculiar chemistry and kismet that has resulted in the creation of music you can’t imagine anyone else coming even close to making. It’s powerful stuff, and a little bit frightening, psychically speaking, because with every performance they seem to be exorcising demons as they lose themselves in the songs. If you miss them, welcome them back when they perform June 13 at Pilot Light. If you’ve never heard them, you can correct that error, and make sure to arrive early enough to catch Joseph and His Brothers."
- Eric Dawson
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From 'Songs:Illinois SXSW 2007' :
"W-S Burn was next, a duo comprised of vocals, electric guitar, and wind chimes. Their music is nothing but beautiful. Somewhat atonal at times, it's like the whole thing takes place in a different Universe and you're lucky enough to look through a window at it." OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
"your music is like the wind blowing through from outer space..it is never the same, indescribable beauty of another dimension only few know and care about, you have to listen carefully or you'll miss it..and then it will be gone..untill next time, when it is completely different but still beautiful."
- Cabral Jacobs XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Review of 'Peek-a-Boo' from Dream Magazine:
"For just a bit over a quarter of an hour this surreal dreamy female sings, hovers and casts out spirits over a mutable bed of guitar and harmonium. Truly haunting and beautiful music that needs the length and breadth to unfurl within. Like Judy Henske circa 'Farewel Aldebaran' merged with Fursaxa and Sigur Ros on a chilly magical holiday." OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Unknown :
"She has a pretty voice and her delivery makes me think she has nightmares" XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Overheard while we were setting up, following Jana Hunter's set in MA :
"Great - now W-S Burn is gonna come on and blow me away..."
if all goes as planned, i will be there tomorrow!...and i will be sad to have to leave you again, just as i always am....it was so great to be there last Thursday and hang out....i enjoyed every minute of it...
Abigail Hopkins' new album, 'The Memoirs Of An Outlaw' is available to pre-order from: www. basilicamusic. bigcartel. com The first 100 copies are signed and numbered!
i'm pretty sure i'll be there tomorrow night....i just need to get good directions, but that shouldn't be too difficult, being that i'm related to a cab driver, right?
Steve & Pixie, Sorry to say that I won't be able to make your gig in Brooklyn tomorrow... will be in the studio... but enjoy... Zebulon is a great space! Hopefully will make the KF show.
so lovely to meet you all too! such inspiration! we will definitely be sending a musical package your way very soon. best of luck to you on your sonic safaris!
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