H-Burns - Late Bloomers

A new release from H-Burns is usually a cause for celebration, especially with the new single Late 

Bloomers being such an impressive piece of work.

The video, with its American big-screen teen drama stylings, makes a strong case for being extended into a full-length movie. Even with a running time of just a few minutes, it feels like it's either been constructed from scenes from a film you've seen years ago and half remember or it's a promo for a film you want to see because you want to know how the characters and their narrative will play out. There's a sense of melancholic nostalgia, but with a promise of a better future.

While "In our time we were happier and prettier" is one hell of a lyric, the song is no downbeat lookback. Instead, it rings with defiance and a rage against the dying of the light: 

"Can we turn the light any brighter? 

Can we play the songs any louder? 

We can always try..."

We can indeed. Play this song louder to start with.

The last major release from H-Burns was the Burns on the Wire album from September 2021, where he played tribute to Leonard Cohen on an album of cover versions featuring collaborations with Pomme, Bertrand Belin and Lou Doillon. It's a majestic release and highly recommended.

I've been listening H-Burns since his 2013 Off the Map album, and every release has seen him develop as a significant artist. It both surprises and disappoints me that he's not better known. Hopefully that will change before too long.

His new album Sunset Park is released on February 3 on Yotanka records. So far it's already looking like a vintage year for French music releases. The new H-Burns album should be one of the early highlights of 2023. 

He's playing at La Maroquinerie in Paris on June 8.