A melodic folk charmer, “Holiday” is a recent single from Sam Burchfield. Originally from the Blue Ridge Mountains of South Carolina, Burchfield crafts songs with a memorable knack for reflection — within a variety of styles, from the western-y rock mystique of “Spirit of the Night” to the understated folk of “Stay (Betty Blue).” Fusing folk and a rock/pop amiability, “Holiday” specifically confronts a myriad of facets within the human experience — spanning from the dull ache of routine and the ghosts of childhood to the urgent need for change before time slips away.
Shimmering acoustic strums and a playful, twangy guitar tone drive seamlessly into Burchfield’s melodic vocal introspections. “What matters most at the end of the day?” he asks. “Where do you go to play?” An ensuing reference to “the woods to a dead childhood” conjures a haunting retrospection, while the “one more holiday / one step towards the grave” refrain exudes a present-day procrastination — postponing change in favor of brief escapes. The lyricism overall captures an uneasy trade-off between brief escapes and the slow march of time, its “think it’s time for a change” refrain proving powerful and hopeful as this gem of a track fades out.
“Holiday” comes via Burchfield’s upcoming album, Nature Speaks, out on October 24th via Cloverdale Records.
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The track is also featured in the genre-based, best-of Spotify compilation Emerging Indie Folk.
We discovered this release via MusoSoup.
