Real Burn– Destiny Is Too Hard
A true NYC band in many regards, Real Burn came together from all over elsewhere USA, and met at an Ovlov show in Brooklyn. A tale as old as time, lured by kismet and the energy of the Big Apple’s music scene, soon after they played their first show at the very same venue where they met. But this quartet, made up of Noah Swanson (vocals, guitar), Charlie Markowiak (guitar), Sumner Bright (bass), and Kota Young (drums), are more than just another NYC fairytale story.
Destiny Is Too Hard, their debut release, often feels like shoegazey Strokes. While quite full of rich guitar textures and low fuzzy vocals that in many ways transport the listener back to 2001 Bowery times, these songs also aren’t all about boozy rock n’roll tropes and drug-fueled bathroom meetups. The band explains that “Destiny Is Too Hard is a lament of youth as much as it is a Zoltar machine casting a future fortune of the unknown.”
From the opening track “Burner,” a catchy as hell mid tempo hit which is somehow both peppy and sleepy at the same time, there is an elevated artistic execution. But by the time you reach the simple yet killer main guitar riff on “Drip Dry,” you’re hooked for the whole ride. My favorite moments are where the band plays a bit more with space and frenetic tension as a counterbalance point, which is more apparent on songs like “CCX2” and “Sick Brain.”
Where DITH may not always soar quite as high and hit big budget production hooks, it doubles down on authenticity, carrying forward a universal voice of a wiser generation; one that sees the modern world as a rapidly deteriorating frightening place; one who can still find the fun in living, but knows it’s not always party time. I’m quite surprised Real Burn hasn’t already linked up with bands like Slow Fiction, O. Wake, and Church Crush, and started booking shows together all over the East Coast, because I think that there’s a collective sound there would command people from all over to stop and take notice of the young musicians occupying the stages of NYC.
Destiny Is Too Hard is out now and available on all major streamers.